The Cost of Dying
by darknessfollows
Summary: A vampire without a voice. A voice without a body. And Seras is the only bridge between them. In exchange for what she desires most, she must act as translator in an effort to reverse an ancient curse, and free her master. AxS, Alternate Universe
1. Waste Not, Want Not

Disclaimer: I do not own Hellsing... not technically anyway.

So, for those of you who remember me, my former profile was **AnonymousPsychofan**, but I seem to have lost the login information, so I resorted to uploading my latest story on this profile instead. It's been a while, and my writing style has hopefully improved. Anyway, I hope you'll enjoy this story! Please R&R!

Story Summary: A vampire without a voice. A voice without a body. And Seras is the only bridge between them. In exchange for what she desires most, she must act as translator in an effort to reverse an ancient curse, and free her master. AxS.

I wish I could tell you where I got the inspiration for such a strange concept. I think it started with a poorly written Beauty & the Beast [Seras = beauty, Alucard = beast] fanfic, that spiraled into 1001 Transylvanian Nights that eventually ended like this. In past, my AxS stories have been mildly fluffy and unrealistic, so I wanted to put them into a scenario where their relationship could actually flourish in and in-character, realistic way. For those of you who aren't familiar with my work, my main character is always Seras, and she is always independent and capable, the way I see her when I read the mangas. I dislike her being portrayed as useless. Inexperienced? Sure. Useless? No. Timid? No. She struggles with hummanity and moral boundaries, not fear of the dark.

That's one of the reasons I hate the TV Anime. I love the Manga and the OVA, so that is the basis for most of my stories, though as you can probably tell this follows a completely different story line. Regrettable Integra, Walter, Millenium, etc. will not make an appearance in this tale. But I did manage to throw Pip in there. Well, enough of my ramblings. Enjoy!

**Chapter One**

**Waste Not, Want Not**

Pain. Hunger. Thirst.

_Where am I?_

No matter how many times she opened her eyes, all she could see was darkness. The feel of stone beneath her, damp and cold, chilled her very being. How long had she been there? She had lost track of time in the darkness. It might have been hours, it might have been days. She honestly didn't care. She honestly didn't mind dying.

"_This is what comes of women in the armed forces! You think his death was an accident? If you hadn't misfired, Sean would still be here now!"_

"_Sir," Seras replied, fighting back tears. "I resign."_

She lost her best friend. She lost her job. In one night. That was cause to leave right? Was running away really so wrong?

"I'm such an idiot," Seras Victoria muttered to no one in particular. "Such a worthless, pathetic idiot."

Of course, when speaking to no one in particular, it is safe to assume that a response is out of the question. Usually, at least.

From nowhere came a low purr, a voice like thunder and silk sewn together with threads of lust and hunger. It made every hair on her body stand on end, made her back curl as a shiver ran through it. It said, "Yes, it does take quite a talented person to walk down a dark alley in a foreign city, where no one could hear you scream..."

Seras was not sure if she should laugh or yell. After time spent alone in the dark, nursing a sore head and an empty stomach, she could not be entirely sure if she had imagined that voice. Certainly, it could have been a very critical, repressed side of her personality, but she had a feeling any of her thoughts would not have been spoken in such a deep (or seductive) voice.

In spite of her doubts, however, she decided that it couldn't hurt to reply. "Might I ask who I am speaking to?" she said plainly.

"You may," the voice allowed, sounding deeply amused.

"But I take it you won't tell me," she said flatly.

A pleased laugh filled the empty air. "Very clever, you worthless, pathetic idiot."

For a moment, Seras bristled at the insult, but then she recalled that she herself had used the harsh term in reference to herself only moments ago. Huffing, she said, "I have a name that I'm willing to share, even if you don't plan to do the same."

Another low chuckle from the voice and it asked, "Very well, human. What would you like to be called by?"

"I'm Seras," she replied. "Seras Victoria."

"What a lovely name," it decided. "I'd commit it to memory if I had one."

Seras frowned into the black. "What do you mean?" she couldn't help asking.

"Perhaps _you_ could tell me... this memory you humans always speak of, as though it is something precious... what exactly is it? Is it merely the past?"

"Er," she said blankly. "Sort of. As in, we can't remember things that haven't happened yet."

"Remember, remember," the voice chided. "What a fascinating word. Very pleasant to say. So continue, girl. What sorts of memories do you have?"

What sorts of memories, she repeated to herself, sighing forlornly. For some reason, she could only remember the bad ones.

"I'm trying to forget mine," she replied.

"Yes, I've noticed some humans try to do that. Only the bad ones, they say. It seems futile. You can never forget, can you? But what I'm curious about... do you have to have a past to remember things?"

"Not exactly..." she decided after a moment's thought. "For instance, what is my name?"

"You called yourself both a worthless, pathetic idiot, and Seras Victoria," the voice replied automatically.

"Right," she said. "Because you remember me telling you those things."

"Ah, I see now!" the voice said, sounding very pleased with itself. "So I have a memory after all. Well, isn't that ironic?"

"Pardon me," she murmured, "But what exactly are you?"

"I?" the voice laughed. "Why would I explain myself to a mortal like you?"

"So you're an _im_mortal," she said, tucking her legs into her chest.

"More or less," it agreed. "It's hard to die if you never existed in the first place."

"Do you know where I am?" she asked.

"Naturally," the voice replied. "You're on the Romanian coast. I've heard it's very beautiful, but physical things are of no use to me."

"Your voice is physical," Seras objected.

He laughed again. "And are you certain of that? Are you entirely certain that I am not in your... imagination?"

Seras nodded fervently. "I would never imagine something like you," she insisted.

"Is that so? And what is imagination, I wonder?"

Seras took a deep breath. "Do you really not know? Or are you just trying to bother me?"

"_Am_ I bothering you?" he asked.

"I suppose not... I haven't really spoken to anyone in days..."

The voice chuckled. "You've only been here for two hours, you silly girl. They're waiting for the master to get hungry, and then they'll kill you."

"Figures," Seras muttered.

"Figures?" he repeated. "What a thing to say in the face of your death! You are fascinating... where are the tears? The screams? Don't you want to live?"

"I wouldn't mind living," she admitted, "but dying isn't so bad either."

"Very, very fascinating," the voice said in admiration. "Tell me more about yourself, Seras Victoria."

"Well," she said, thinking of what to say, "Until recently, I was a Police Officer in London."

"A Police Girl?" he mused. "Why did you quit? Or were you fired?"

"It didn't make much of a difference," she said. "I didn't belong there. Not after what I did."

"And what was that?"

"There was a shooting... in a bar, and we went in to break it up, but one of my bullets... ricocheted. And hit my partner. He was... my best friend... and I... killed..." Her throat closed as fresh tears leaked down her cheeks.

"So that's it," the voice said, sounding disappointed. "I see. Perhaps I misjudged. In the end, you're just like every other human, aren't you?"

"You would have liked me better if I had no emotions at all," she pointed out. "Only a monster could kill the person they love the most and not care."

"You had no family to love?" the voice wondered.

"I was orphaned at fourteen," she informed him, not really caring what he thought about her. "That's why I decided to become an officer, because of the way they died. I almost died that night as well."

"Car crash?" he drawled.

"No. Some men broke into our appartment. My parents hid me in the closet where I watched as they were shot. Then they started to rape my mother's body. That's why I couldn't stay hidden. I couldn't let them do that to her. I was too weak to save her, but maybe I could have stopped them from defiling her like that. The only thing I could find in the closet was a fork... so I ran out, and stabbed one of them in the eye. The other shot me. I honestly thought I had died, but I woke up in the hospital some time later. And yes, being the emotional, pathetic human that I am, I cried for them. You'd have done the same if someone you loved had died."

The voice scoffed. "Aside from the fact that I have no physical body to cry with, love is something I cannot do."

Seras laughed. "And you call _me_ the worthless one. You can't even love? What a pitiful existence."

"_You_ pity _me_?" the voice snarled.

"Of course," she replied. "You are nothing. You have no feelings, no significant memories, no companions, no body... emotions may be considered weak, but at least they gave me a purpose. You? You have no purpose. Yes, I pity you."

"If I had a body, I would kill you," the voice decided. "You're far too bold for a human. Humans should know what they are; pathetic and weak. Broken in mere seconds. I hear their pain and their misery as they die within these very walls, always begging like dogs for mercy. What a world even in this castle. Hearing their pitiful cries... it's so glorious as though I myself can taste the carnage. I long to feel what he feels as he ends their meaningless lives. I can always sense his pleasure. Is death really so wonderful?"

"No!" Seras blurted out. "Death is... the end. What's wonderful about that?"

The voice cackled. "A human through and through, little police girl. Your vision is narrow. The end frightens you when it is the beginning you should have avoided in the first place. You come out of this life with what? The death of your family, the death of your friend. Do you really feel as though you've led a good life? Do you really think you've done anything worthwhile?"

"Of course," she said so instantly that a long silence followed her words.

After a few moments, the voice spoke once again, "And what, pray tell, might that have been?"

Seras closed her eyes, smiling to herself. She could remember happy times. Laughter and warmth, comfort from those she loved. The success when they apprehended a criminal or saved a person in danger. The feel of arms about her even as she cried at her parents graves. Late nights drinking coffee, talking about life as they watched for speeders.

It certainly wasn't nothing.

"Life," she said quietly, "Has it's ups and downs. I've done good things, and felt wonderful emotions that made me happy. I've seen sunsets, and smelled the grass. Life is anything but meaningless. For every time I made someone smile, and every embrace I ever received... _that_ made life worth living. And that is why I pity you the most. Because you don't know what it is to live."

The following silence was not to be broken. The minutes quickly changed to hours, and again Seras slipped into the void of sleep, now more confident than ever that the voice had been nothing more than a hard bump on the head.

And then she woke.

For a moment, the world was a blur. Lights flashed around her, licking at the darkness. Voices coming in and out of focus. They weren't English anyway, so she made no attempt to hear them. She merely blinked again and again until her eyes adjusted to her new surroundings.

The first thing they saw was a high, painted ceiling, gilded with gold. Then walls came into perspective, followed by tapestries, and torches, and a large roaring fireplace. From her height, she realized she wasn't lying on the floor, but the place seemed to high for a bed as well.

Shaking her head as she did so, she forced herself into a sitting position.

_A table, _she realized. _Of course. I'm dinner afterall._

Carefully, she turned until her eyes met with the only other figure in the room. He was sitting in a chair, his legs crossed elegantly, his eyes trained on hers. Seras bit back a gasp as she looked him over, and tried to recall if she had ever seen such a beautiful, frightening man before.

Webs of silk like hair cascaded down his face and shoulders, drifting across his sharp, pallid features. His lips were thin, and spread in a slight grin that revealed razor sharp teeth, and abnormally elongated canines. But what captured her interest most were his eyes, which smoldered a deep, bloody crimson.

_Not human,_ she told herself. _He can't be human._

In spite of herself, Seras rather feebly called, "Who are you?"

The "man" in the chair, rested his head in his hand, now grinning at her a bit more fully.

Seras sighed. "I suppose I shouldn't expect an answer from a man who intends to eat me, but it helps keep me rational, and I always planned to be in my right mind when I died. And who knows; perhaps having your dinner talk to you will make it seem less appealing."

The man rose from his chair, his full height stretching before her, his smile leering and cruel.

"Or not," Seras allowed, trying to keep a conversation going, if only to keep herself from bursting into tears. "Maybe it has the opposite effect. After all, if I were you, I'd want to eat me, too."

_What am I saying? _Seras wondered incredulously. Her captor seemed to be wondering the same thing. He had an eyebrow cocked as though curious to see where she was going with her ramblings.

She took a deep breath and continued, "I mean, if I was a killer, I suppose it would be rather difficult to resist fresh bait when it was right in front of me."

_Who said I wanted to eat you?_

Seras nearly jumped in surprise as words formulated in front of her face, made of something like smoke, but denser. "Er," she stuttered, "the voice in the dungeon."

_Waste not, want not, _the words replied.

"Huh?" she said in confusion as the words dissipated.

And suddenly the man was right in front of her, his hands sliding along the edges of her face, pushing it upward to look at him. She went rigid as icy fingers glided over her skin, lingering on her lips and the corners of her eyes, as though taking in every inch of her expression. They slowly drifted downward, along the curve of her neck and across her shoulders, down to her waist line and then upward once more.

"H-hey!" Seras gasped, jerking away from him and covering her chest defensively. "If you're going to eat me fine, but keep your hands to yourself!"

The man leaned over her, pinning her to the table with his arms.

More words began to scribble across the air. _Don't resist._

"Like hell!" Seras growled. "Get off of me!"

She tried to push against his chest, but found him as immovable as steel. His arms, with the strength of a giant, wound around her, pulling her tight against him. She knew it was futile to struggle, and instead went limp in his grasp, allowing him to explore every inch of her unwilling body.

_Good girl._

Seras did not meet his gaze as his hands roamed up and down her torso, along the length of her legs, under her shirt, and across places that made her face burn. It was humiliating, to be so thoroughly dominated; a small part of her began to seeth with hate that she had not felt even after being locked in a dungeon.

In her mind, she could understand if she was "dinner". Was it any different than being killed by a lion or a wolf? But to be violated first? That meant that he didn't just see her as food. And if he wasn't keeping her for food, then he was no better than the criminals she had spent years working to put away.

The police woman inside of her was buzzing angrily, thinking of ways to persecute such a man. However, the rational side of her brain said again: _not human_. He was clearly stronger than her, and who knew what other advantages he had over her. Years of cool thinking in hot situations cleared her mind and made her see that it truly was futile to resist, that she didn't have a hope of escaping while he had his hands on her, and that she would do less damage to herself if she just lay still.

She relaxed and shut her eyes to the world around her, forgetting the invading hands, the aches from sleeping on stone and the hunger churning in her stomach. Her thoughts soared away from this wretched place to a time when she was happy.

"_Mum, look!" the girl of twelve cried, pointing to a flower. Upon it sat a tiny purple butterfly, flapping it's wings in the rare English sun._

"_Beautiful," a tall, lovely woman agreed, her long blond hair falling around her face like a curtain as she bent forward to her daughter's find._

_Suddenly the butterfly took flight, fluttering it's lavender wings through the air before it came to land on the young girl's shoulder._

"_That's good luck," said her mother brightly. "Whenever a butterfly lands on you, it means there are good times ahead."_

_The young girl smiled as she watched the tiny creature rise into the air once again, and glide off over the field of wildflowers._

WHAM!

Seras was jerked back to reality with a painful yelp as something hard collided with the side of her face. Her eyes flew open in alarm, as her hand rose defensively to the injured spot. She could already feel it swelling.

_You will pay attention when you are in my company, _words began to write across her cloudy vision. It took her a minute to realize that it must have been her captor who had hit her.

Reflexively, to avoid further pain, she replied, "Yes, Sir."

As he bent over her once again, she was careful to keep her eyes open, locked on his, though her body she shut off to feeling. Her mind roamed, but not as deeply, straying to more recent memories.

"_Oi, you're in my seat," said a deep, rugged voice._

_Seras, smiling, spun around in her chair, her arms folded across her chest. "And what are you going to do about it?"_

_Sean put on a thoughtful pose. "Well, I suppose I could bribe you to go elsewhere," he decided after a few moments._

_Seras raised an eyebrow. "It's going to have to be something pretty spectacular," she said._

"_Would you call Harrod's spectacular?"_

_Seras snorted. "As if I can afford anything there!"_

"_It's my treat," he said, ruffling her hair. "You've been needing some new clothes anyway."_

"_I'm not letting you buy me stuff!" she said quickly._

"_You don't have a choice," he replied. "Happy nineteenth birthday, Ser."_

"_Seriously, Sean, Harrod's is-"_

"_Seras, I'm buying you clothes whether you come or not," Sean insisted. "The least you can do is come along to make sure they fit. And maybe thank me a few times."_

_Laughing, Seras rose from the chair and through her arms around his shoulders. "Thank you," she said in his ear._

WHAM!

Seras let out a low, wounded cry as another blow connected with her skull, this time to the opposite side of her face.

She realized her eyes had slipped shut and slowly opened them again to find herself face to face with a very terrifying sight. Her captor towered over her, his face contorted with rage, his fangs bared and his eyes blazing like hellfire. She shrank backwards, her heart hammering with fear.

He brutally grabbed her shoulders and slammed her down against the table. Seras felt the wood splinter and give way beneath them, sending bits of wood into her arms and shoulders. She bit her lips to hold back her cry, forcing her eyes to stay open, to see her coming death.

Cold fingers closed on her neck, slowly adding pressure and cutting off more and more of her air supply.

_So this is it, _she thought, staring up into the face of the man who was about to kill her. Already darkness was clouding at the edges of her vision. _What a relief. I get to die after all._

She watched his fierce face, the anger in his vision, the hate behind his eyes. _He has nothing at all,_ she realized groggily, _like the voice in the dungeon. Empty, lonely. I sort of... feel... bad..._

And then everything dissolved into the black.


	2. A Deal with the Devil

!-- page { margin: 0.79in } P { margin-bottom: 0.08in } A:link { so-language: zxx } --**Chapter Two**

**A Deal with the Devil**

Everything blurred together as Seras slowly woke.

_I'm alive?_ she thought blearily.

"Ooh, she's coming to!"

"Wait, wait, let me see! Wow, blue eyes! She's pretty!"

"Of course she's pretty."

And then giggles filled the air. Seras forced her eyes open all the way. It was disorienting, waking in a place other than where she had passed out, particularly surrounded by strangers. Bobbing in and out of focus were three very lovely faces, all with dark hair and eyes.

Moaning, Seras tried to sit up.

"Ah-ah," said one, pushing her back down. "That's a bad idea."

The smallest of the three nodded her fervent agreement. "You got pretty scuffed up. You were bleeding all over when Master brought you to us."

"You must have made quite an impression!" said the first again. "I've never seen him personally heal a girl he himself wounded. Usually he likes to watch them suffer. But I guess he wants to keep you."

"Well, you are really pretty, Seras," the little one said, smiling brightly.

"H-how did you know my name?" Seras mumbled.

"Hmm?" the little one said in surprise. "Master told us of course."

"And how did he know it?" Seras wondered.

The two girls who had been doing the talking burst into fits of giggles.

"Vampires can read minds, you dolt," the third finally put in, her beautiful features unamused and somewhat frigid.

"Aleera, you're too mean!" the first of the girls said. "Ah, which reminds me Seras; I'm Marishka and this is Verona." She gestured to the little one.

Seras blinked. "And who are you exactly?"

"We are the brides of Lord Alucard," Aleera said impatiently. "And you are _not_ one of us. Lord Alucard is only keeping you because you have information he wants."

"Aleera!" Marishka and Verona exclaimed in unison.

"Hush," Aleera commanded, and instantly the two girls backed off, heads lowered submissively. "I know this to be a fact because Lord Alucard assured me of it. He says she is too pure to make a suitable bride."

"Too pure?" Marishka wondered. "Weren't we all pure when he found us?"

"Pure of heart, I think he meant," Aleera replied.

Marishka and Verona suddenly looked at Seras with a whole new expression in their eyes; distaste. Seras was having a hard time taking in everything that had happened.

Vampires? They couldn't be serious.... but then, his eyes _were_ red and he _did_ have fangs.

_What have I gotten myself into?_ Seras wondered miserably.

A sudden ripple of energy went through the room as the three draculinas exchanged curious glances.

"Why's he coming now?" Verona asked, prodding Aleera's arm.

Aleera, frowning, replied, "I don't know."

Verona and Marishka exchanged an uneasy glance.

Seras felt a shiver crawl up her spine as the temperature in the room dropped about ten degrees.

"Master!" Verona and Marishka cried enthusiastically, leaping away from the bed at inhuman speeds. Seras lifted her head enough that she could see a tall dark figure standing in the center of the room. The three girls crowded around him like he was the only thing in life that mattered, their dark eyes alight with crimson undertones. 'Alucard' as Aleera had called him, was not paying them any mind.

His eyes were on Seras; his expression akin to that of a cat that just cornered a mouse.

Seras swallowed.

_Good evening._ The words appeared in front of her just as they had before.

"Good evening," she said back, determined not to have him hit her again. A smile of triumph lit his features.

_Domination is overrated, _Seras thought, recalling that he could read minds.

He merely walked towards her, and sat himself beside her on the bed.

_You seem to be recovering well, _his words wrote.

"I have you to thank," she replied politely.

_Perhaps you can return the favor, _he suggested.

"You want me to choke you as well?" she inquired innocently. "Or should I use you to break a table?"

_As you are incapable of doing either, I'll settle for letting you answer a question._

"Ask away," Seras sighed.

_You spoke with a voice in the dungeon?_

Seras nodded slowly. "Yes, but... it could have been my imagination."

_What did it say? _he asked. _What did it sound like?_

"It was deep... and seductive, I suppose," she murmured. "Sort of frightening, too."

He seemed enticed by her answer and leered over her waiting for her to continue.

Seras, shifting uncomfortably, replied, "We were talking about death, and about memories and imagination. He was asking me questions and... he seemed to like me at first, but then we got into an argument and he stopped speaking to me."

_Be more specific,_ Alucard commanded.

Seras huffed and said, "It's difficult to remember; I was barely awake and I dismissed the whole thing as a dream."

Alucard's faced turned to impatient. Suddenly he grabbed her collar and jerked her off the bed, giving her a hard shake.

For some reason, Seras started to laugh, "I never thought I would ever want to die."

_You don't know pain yet, _he threatened.

Seras closed her eyes, smiling. _Yes, I do._ In her mind, she could see her parents faces, and Sean's as well, all hovering in a distant golden glow, a place she longed to be. _See you soon, _she promised. _Hopefully very soon._

Alucard gave her another jerk, but she was beyond caring. The weight of a blow wracked against her ribcage, and happy tears rolled down her cheeks. A large snap echoed through her body as her wrist broke, but she was already that much closer to the golden light in her mind. Her mother stood between the two men, her arms spread ready to carry her daughter away from her pain.

Seras barely felt it as something ripped the flesh above her stomach, but she knew that it meant she was almost light around her was growing stronger, calling her home. Slowly, she forced her blurry eyes open, and saw the enraged face of her killer through the blur.

"Thank you," she whispered faintly. "Thank you... for letting me die."

And then her eyes closed and she ran head first into the blinding warmth of death, her hands reaching for her mother's, the light surrounding all of them.

And then it vanished. Like a candle being extinguished, everything turned to darkness, hollow and empty, with cold air rushing through it.

"No," Seras whispered, scanning the black for any sign of her family.

_You are mine, Seras Victoria._

"No!" Seras said with more force.

_Welcome to the land of the dead, my servant._

"No!" she screamed, eyes flying open. Breathing heavily, she looked around. She was in a bedroom different than before, larger, and more pleasantly furnished.

"Was it really necessary to shout?" a voice from nowhere asked.

"You," Seras breathed. "Where am I?"

"Where do you think?" the voice asked sarcastically. "You're in the castle, in a bed, screaming for no reason whatsoever."

"I should be dead," she insisted. "Why didn't he let me die?"

"From what they were saying, I believe you _are_ dead. In a sense."

Seras gasped. "You mean...?"

Her hand flew defensively to her neck to the exact location of a set of faint bumps on the soft skin. She could feel the heat radiating from them, though it was the only heat she could feel at all. Everything else was icily cold.

"No," she whispered once more, but the sound was so faint that she wondered if even the mysterious voice from the ceiling heard it.

"I suppose I'll be able to feel your emotions when you kill as well," the voice was saying to himself thoughtfully.

"K-kill?" Seras stuttered.

"Of course. You're a vampire now. You'll starve if you don't eat."

"I can't kill anyone!" Seras insisted. "That's murder! It goes against everything I stand for."

"Actually, police girl, murder is defined as the intended killing of one human being by another. Weren't you the one that said dying at the hands of a vampire was no different than dying in a wolf's jaws?"

"You can read thoughts as well?" Seras gasped.

"To an extent," he replied. "I'm better with emotions, and might I say, you're taking all this remarkably well for a newly made fledgling."

_Fledgling, _Seras repeated. _I'm not human anymore. I guess... maybe that's not so bad? Afterall, isn't this why I ran away? To find a new life? But then, this was not by any means the life I was hoping for! Eating humans? Am I even capable of that?_

"It's all instinct," the voice said, obviously having heard her doubts. "You're vampiric nature will kick in as soon as you smell one. Your master will no doubt see to your meals for a while."

"My... master..." Seras repeated. The word seemed familiar on her tongue when she thought of the man who had killed her, as if he could not be known by anything else. The title 'Alucard' faded into obscurity as this new word associated itself with his face.

For some inexplicable reason, when she thought of him, there was no resentment for him having captured her, tried to rape her, beaten her twice and then turned her unwillingly into a vampire. In fact, given that he was a powerful king of his kind, and that she had been a lowly human, these actions almost seemed natural... expected.

Seras quickly shook her head to shake away such a horrifying thought. Natural? He had been nothing short of cruel! She could never forgive him! But... she couldn't hate him either. He was her master after all, and the horrible way her heart had started to pine for him told her that she would willingly follow him to the ends of the earth.

Sighing, she dropped her head into her hands. _No turning back, _she realized. _I can't ever undo this._

"Dinner seems to be on it's way..." the voice observed.

Seras felt panic hit her like a sledgehammer. "D-dinner?" she spluttered.

"Yes," he said. "I sense a human coming. You won't be able to resist, not at this age, if you catch a whiff of her scent."

Seras' eyes were already scanning the room for a way out other than the door. The room she was in was windowless and had only the one exit. She was trapped.

"Phase," the voice drawled. "Or burst through a wall."

"Have you lost your mind?" Seras gasped.

"You are not a human anymore."

"I don't know what... I can't..."

"Then you will drink."

The door swung open and in walked a young woman with a dazed expression. "I'm here to make the bed, milady."

Seras felt something in her snap. Her vision turned red, her fangs lengthened. Her sharp ears could hear every delicious beat of the girls heart, every pulse of the blood in her veins. The maid wore her hair in a bun, exposing the smooth skin of her neck...

Seras was already advancing, her steps soft and careful, her tongue glazing over her sharpened teeth.

"Wonderful," said a low voice, no doubt sensing the hunger radiating from her body.

_This is wrong, _some very small, rational part of her said.

_But she smells so wonderful, _the hungry side of her replied.

_Yes, she does, _the rational side agreed, _but so does a chocolate cake when you're on a diet. You know how to resist Seras... don't lose yourself like this. Fight it!_

_Fight? _The hungry side replied. _There's no hope. I can't eat anything else. There's no going back._

_But there are other ways, _the rational side argued. _And think: if you give in now, you'll just be doing what he wants._

And that's what made Seras snap again. _We can feast on our own time, _her vampiric nature decided. _And not because he tells us to._

Her human side sighed its relief. At least she could unite entirely on one thing- her controversial like and dislike of her master.

With some difficulty, she sat in a nearby chair and watched as the alluring young woman made the bed, straightened up the room, and then hurried back into the hall, smiling unnaturally, as though she had no idea she was in a castle full of monsters.

Seras let out a low breath, amazed at her own ability to refuse such a delicious scent. And now the room stunk of human. She needed to get out... to clear her head.

She waited patiently for a few minutes, enough time to give the girl to move away, and then stepped out into the hall.

If she had been attempting to escape the smell of humans, she had done the wrong thing. The whole hall was polluted with the thick smell of human blood.

Seras felt her vision turning red once more.

_Not yet, _her human side said.

_Hurry,_ said the vampire inside her. _I'm hungry._

Unfortunately, the smell had clouded her other senses, and she did not know which way would take her further from it.

She went left.

Wrong way.

As she rounded the corner, she met with a terrible sight.

Aleera, Marishka and Verona stood in the midst of a bloody mess, their lips smeared with crimson, their eyes glowing.

Seras felt no desire to look away in disgust. This to her, like other things, suddenly seemed very natural.

Marishka caught sight of Seras first. "Sister, how could you pass up such a tasty treat?" she wondered, licking the blood off her face.

Seras shrugged. "I wasn't hungry," she said.

She stepped over the corpse of the girl who had just made her bed, surprised that she felt little remorse, and walked past the three brides.

"Where are _you_ going?" Aleera asked sharply.

"For a walk," Seras replied.

"That is where Lord Alucard's chambers are," Aleera growled.

"Perfect," Seras said. "Just the man I wanted to see."

Verona gasped. "Seras, you'll get in trouble!"

Seras smiled over her shoulder. "The worst has already happened."

"You think that, but you don't know," Marishka contradicted. "He can make you hurt, Seras. You must not go!"

_I already hurt, _Seras thought to herself. _Physical pain will all end eventually. Besides... maybe I can strike a deal with the devil. I have knowledge he wants... and he has a power I want._

Seras continued down the hall, no room for fear alongside her firm resolution. At the end stood a single door- carved wood, painted black. Engraved was an image of a dragon wrapped around a cross in a field of fire.

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Seras ignored it and reached for the knob, not even bothering to knock. For a moment, she paused with her hand curled about the cool brass and swallowed. Then, she entered the room.

_Good evening, Seras. _

Seras gave an unexpected jump when the words, rather than writing themselves in the air, resounded in her own head, spoken in an all too familiar voice.

She quickly raised her eyes to those of her Master's.

"You can speak?" she said skeptically.

_Now that you are bound to me, our thoughts are linked, _Alucard replied. He was reclining in a throne like chair in the middle of the dark room, his fangs glinting threateningly.

Seras took a cautious step towards him. "Why does your voice sound exactly like the voice in the ceiling?" she ventured to ask.

_Because his voice is my voice. Because he is me._

Seras frowned. "Master, that doesn't make sense. He knows very little and he talks about you as though you are separate people."

_We are, _Alucard replied. _One creature divided by a curse._

"What sort of curse?" Seras asked eagerly.

His grin grew. _That is not a question for a servant to ask. Just do as you're told and you will be rewarded._

"I understand, Master," Seras replied. "But may I choose my reward?"

_Yes._

Seras nodded eagerly. "I will give you the information you seek as long as you promise, when it's all over, to kill me."

_Kill you?_ He asked in amusement.

"Yes," Seras replied. "It won't be of any harm to you or your plans, since I pledge myself to you until the time comes. I'm sure you can't have any use for me other than that I've spoken with your voice. That's why you bit me, isn't it?"

_And are you certain that I didn't bite you because I wanted a fourth bride? _Alucard inquired.

Seras smiled slightly. "I heard the others talking. Aleera said you were only keeping me for information, and that I was too 'pure' to be a bride."

_Is that so?_ Alucard asked, leaning his head into his hand as his grin grew. _Well, you certainly do seem to have a problem. Why did you turn away the gift I sent you?_

Seras shifted uncomfortably. "It felt wrong... even after talking with that voice. It was hard to suppress the desire to eat her."

_Indeed, _Alucard agreed. _To a vampire, blood is life. To a fledgling... it is everything._

"I'm more interested in dying," Seras said flatly. Now that the smell had vanished from her nostrils it was surprisingly easy to forget her hunger. Her vampiric nature had settled in a gentle hum that continued to heighten her senses but did not possess her mind or vision.

_I can see that, _Alucard replied, his eyes glittering. _But why be so hasty? You may find you actually _like_ being a vampire._

Seras shook her head vigorously. "No. This is what I want. I'm sure of it."

_Very well, why don't we strike a deal?_

"A deal?" Seras repeated.

He grinned and rose from his seat, stalking towards her with intimidating presence. Seras tensed as he halted barely inches from her and slid his hand onto her lower back, keeping her from moving away.

_Here's how the game works, _he said, his face very close to hers, his teeth still bared. _I'll start by telling you about my curse._

"Alright," Seras said.

_About two centuries ago, a vampire hunter came to realize that his enemy, a vampire of great power, could not be killed. He had tried driving a stake into his heart, burning his coffin, tying him out in the sun, cutting off his head, but to no avail. By and by, the hunter developed another way to defeat the beast, through a curse. He caused the vampire's soul to split in two, in the hopes that he would be able to defeat the weaker, divided vampire. However, the curse was incomplete, and it was not an even split. The hunter at last met his end._

"So you think there might be a way to put you back together?" Seras asked.

_Who knows? The trouble is I cannot communicate with my missing piece._

"Because he can only hear..." Seras realized."Why not have Aleera, or Marishka or Verona, talk to him on your behalf."

_He is rather selective in those he speaks to._

"And that's where I come in?" Seras asked.

_Clever, _he replied, a hint of sarcasm in his voice. _But yes, that is why you are still here._

"So... if I could get him to speak to me, what would you want me to say?" Seras wondered.

_Ah, ah, ah. _He scolded. _You're making the game too easy. We haven't even set the stakes yet._

Seras huffed. "Fine. What are the stakes?"

_If you create an open stream of communication with my other half, one that does not depend on your existence, I'll kill you, _he said. _However, if you fail, you have to live in this castle for as long as I want you to, as my bride._

Seras shuddered at the thought. "I just won't fail then," she decided.

_Either way, I win, _Alucard put in. His grip on her tightened ever so slightly.

Feeling uncomfortable, Seras tried to shift further away from him, but his grip was as hard as ever. "If you'll excuse me, Master..."

_You have somewhere else to be? _He asked, knowing she didn't.

"No, but... the deal is if I _fail_. I haven't failed yet, so technically you aren't allowed to touch me."

_We never said anything about touching; only sleeping together._ With his free hand, he began to stroke along her jawline, and down to her neck.

Seras, just as she had before, attempted to ignore him, to feel none of his attentions and see only pleasant memories. Yet, as she closed her mind and scoured the recesses of her mind, the only thing she could see was fire, blinding and yet wonderful at the same time. Alucard's cold fingers were like hot iron on her skin, making her sway on her feet as every muscle in her body eased into him.

"Master..." she purred adoringly, even before she realized she had said it. She quickly clapped a hand over her mouth in horror at her own voice.

Alucard's grin had only grown. _You may find, my pet, that you are more prone to serve me than you were before._

Seras shook her head vigorously. "It was only a lapse in control," she insisted.

_Of course,_Alucard allowed, sliding his fingers up her spine.

She shivered and pressed against him. Then Seras began to scowl at the way her body had reacted and attempted to pull away from him.

Alucard did not hold her back this time. She quickly hurried to the door, humiliation and heat flooding through her. Her vampiric side was screaming inside her head, demanding to know why she had refused her master, the man who had given her life, the man who she adored.

_Because I don't really adore him, _Seras replied as she walked back down the long, now empty, hall. _It's only the link between us that makes these emotions seem so strong. But really, it's just a veil behind which lies a true monster, a cruel man. I don't love him. I don't even like him. How can I so quickly forget what he did to me?_

_You haven't come to terms with the beating? _Her vampiric nature inquired.

_No, I mean... keeping me alive when he knew that dying was what I wanted._

_But Master _needed _you, _the vampire replied. _He still needs you... us. We can help him. We can become his favorite. We want that, don't we?_

_You want that,_ Seras insisted.

_You cannot lie to yourself, _the vampire said coyly. _You have noticed the difference... he is gentle with you now._

_Because I'm his kind, _Seras muttered. _But to humans he's cruel._

_You were disobeying, _the vampire scolded. _You should have known your place. A vampire like Master shouldn't have to put up with such disrespect._

_Who does he think he his? _Seras demanded. _Thinking it's his right to change people into something they don't want to be..._

_It _is _his right. He is above humans on the food chain, both intellectually and otherwise. Who do you think _you_ are? Thinking you have the right to defy a king..._

Seras huffed angrily as she opened the door to her room and threw herself down on the bed. Her mind was in overload, her thoughts at war with each other, her moral line now so fuzzy that she was certain it was only a matter of time before she slipped across it. And on top of everything, she felt frustration.

"I don't know who I am anymore," she mumbled into a pillow, as sleep slowly overtook her.

"Neither do I..." a soft voice replied.

_Of course not... _she thought wearily, _... my master._


	3. Regarding Vampires

**Chapter Three**

**Regarding Vampires**

When Seras awoke again, there was no doubt in her mind that it was exactly 6:53 pm, and that she had slept for eight hours and thirty six minutes. There was also no doubt in her mind that she needed food. _Now._

_Should we wait for Master's permission...?_ her inner vampire thought uneasily as Seras began to listen for the sound of a heartbeat.

_Isn't that why we passed up the blood in the first place? _Seras retorted. _I hunt on my orders, not his._

_And I'll pay the price, _her vampire thought bitterly.

_We both will, _Seras replied. _Remember: to be strong, we must not depend on him._

Her vampire whimpered slightly, and the noise passed through Seras' lips. Seras gritted her teeth and crept from the bedroom.

As she moved down the hall she made not a sound, like a perfect predator- swift and silent. Her instincts told her where to turn, how to find the staircases, and which doors to take. It was like she had a built in navigational system that always led to dinner.

Seras quickly realized along the way that she and the other vampires had been residing in the basement, and that the human servants stayed in the floors above. It was night, so they were all in some sort of large room, probably taking their evening meal. However, two were wandering the halls alone and a third was in a smaller room, probably a bedroom, not moving. Sleeping or reading, she decided.

For some reason, this one was the one she chose, like her body could sense that he would taste the best. The closer she drew, the louder his heartbeat was, and the less human she felt. Her vision was a painful, throbbing crimson, her fangs digging deep into her lip and sending small doses of icy blood down her throat. The slight coppery taste only made her craving worse. Time seemed to stand still as she sped at inhuman speeds upwards, stairwell after stairwell, hall after hall, until she was standing just outside the door that held her delicious prey.

His heartbeat thudded in her ears and the smell of his skin leaked from beneath the door. Licking her lips, she pushed it open and stepped into the candlelight.

_Writing, _she realized when she caught sight of the human. He was sitting with his back to her his long orange-brown hair swept over his shoulder in a thick braid. His clothes were rugged and well used, his body muscled from years of labor and hard living. A cigarette held between his fingers emitted a foul smell into the air that couldn't quite overpower his enticing one.

Her mouth began to water. She stepped forward.

As if he had sensed her movement, the man suddenly turned around and stared at her sharply. Seras halted, more to admire his face than because she was alarmed at being discovered. Shaggy bangs fell across his tan features. His right eye was covered with a patch but the good one shone gray, and was roving approvingly up and down her figure. Seras decided than in his own way, he was quite attractive; somehow the fact that he was so human (the lines under his eyes, the dark tone of his skin) made him seem all the more appealing.

" Bună seara," he said warily.

"Good evening," she replied, smiling politely.

"Ah, english," he said in a thick French accent that she had not noticed when he was speaking Romanian. "'ow can I help you?"

"Just sit there and let me end your life," Seras said, advancing once more.

The man merely raised an eyebrow. "Vampire?" he questioned. "One of Alucard's?"

Seras hissed at the lack of honorific in front of her master's name. Who did that human think he was? Referring to her master as though they were friends.

"I did not know 'e 'ad taken anozer bride," the Frenchman said thoughtfully.

Suddenly, Seras was herself again. "I'm not his bride!" she insisted.

He smiled slightly. "Oh? So does zat mean you are fair game for ozers?"

"N-no!" Seras stuttered. "I don't think Master would like that..."

_Indeed I would not, Seras... _said a voice into her head.

Seras sensed more than saw him enter the room, stepping forward from a portal of shadows with a smug expression.

_Hunting without permission?_ he said to her. _You'll be punished for that. Three days with out food..._

But for some reason, he didn't seem at all upset by her actions. He actually seemed pleased. Seras frowned.

"Master..." she started, but he silenced her with a look.

He addressed the human the same way he had Seras before he bit her. Smoke like words spun in the air until they settled to form, _I see you have met my newest fledgling._

"She's quite a looker, Monsieur Alucard, but she says she is not your bride?"

_Seras is here for _other _reasons, _Alucard replied.

Seras, meanwhile, folded her arms across her chest and huffed impatiently. Alucard turned to her and said, _wait outside. I'll deal with you in a minute._

She wanted to say, "Make me," or something childish like that, but for some reason she found herself unable to resist the desire to obey him.

_We must keep Master happy, _her inner vampire cooed as it urged her out the door.

_But I can still listen, _Seras replied, pricking her ears as the door shut behind her.

_He'll find out! _her alter ego insisted.

_Hush, _Seras said, and instantly the voice quieted like an obedient puppy. She pressed her ear to the door.

"Ah, I see," the Frenchman was saying. "And you think she is ze one?"

There was a pause as Alucard no doubt wrote something in the air and then the man said, "My apologies, Alucard. Very well, 'ow does eet concern me?"

Another pause and then, "Are you out of your mind?! Zat's suicide! Remarkable control! Ha! Fledglings are all ze same. Blood-crazed."

There was a longer break in the shouts before the Frenchman finally said, "I suppose... it was a bit unusual. But... very well."

Seras let out a sudden startled yelp as something cold and wet slithered up the side of her neck.

"M-M-Master!" she stuttered, tripping over her feet and landing with an ungraceful smack on the ground.

Alucard towered over her, one eyebrow raised, an amused smirk on his lips. _You're rather clumsy for a vampire, _he observed.

The door opened and out stepped the Frenchman. He glanced from Alucard to Seras (who was lying unceremoniously on the ground, breathing heavily) and donned an interested expression. To Alucard he said, "Eet is not very polite to leave ze room when someone is speaking to you."

Seras could tell he wasn't serious, but growled all the same. She had had enough of this arrogant human speaking to her master like they were equals.

_My fledgling needed to learn a lesson about listening at keyholes, _Alucard replied.

Seras glared up at him.

Alucard still grinning, delivered her punishment in silence. _Return to your room, Seras, and do not come out unless I have summoned you._

"Master, I-"

_Now._

Seras could not refuse. Sighing, she rose from the ground and wandered dejected down to the basement, and into her room, where, for three days, she lay useless on the bed, staring at the ceiling. She did not try to escape, though her hunger had become painful, and her boredom was overwhelming. Nobody visited her, not even the voice in the ceiling.

Finally, at dusk on the third day, the door opened and in stepped the Frenchman. Seras was more than surprised to see him, and wondered if he could really be so stupid as to wander into a hungry vampire's chamber alone.

Already she was inhaling his musky smell and licking her lips.

However, before she had even fully risen from the bed, he said, "Your master says zat if you eat me, your deal with 'im is null."

That stopped her hunger in its tracks. Both Seras and her vampire began to sulk. "Then what do you want?" Seras inquired.

"Your master has asked me to take you into one of the nearby villages hunting," he said.

"Why doesn't Master take me himself?" she asked indignantly. Why should she have to be with this human when it was Master she longed to see?

"'e says 'e doesn't want to see you," the Frenchman replied.

The words collided with Seras like knives, cutting right through her heart. _Doesn't want... _

_... to see us?_ Her vampire finished in shock. _This is your fault! _She snarled. _If you hadn't insisted on disobeying..._

_My fault? _Seras demanded.

_Of course! We should have eaten when told!_

_Why are you so loyal to a monster? _Seras retorted.

_You're a monster, too!_ The inner vampire barked. _Don't pretend to be so innocent!_

_You're the monster, _Seras replied. _You're the one making me think all those things!_

_Am I? _Her other self inquired. _Am I really?_

Seras did not respond. She quickly shut off the voice and turned to face the Frenchman with stony eyes. "If that is what my master wants," she agreed, "you are in no danger from me, Frenchman."

"Pip," he corrected.

"Pardon?" she said.

"You can call me Pip. Pip Bernadette."

"Oh," she breathed. It felt strange to place a name with his face, like naming broccoli. Until a moment ago, he had been nothing more than food in her mind. Remembering her manners, she held out her hand and said, "Seras Victoria."

"Eetz a pleasure, mon cherrie," he said stooping over her hand to kiss it.

Seras colored while her inner vampire hissed quietly in disapproval.

"Er... yeah," she stammered, feeling her heart flutter upward when his lone stormy eye met with hers. He grinned as though he was aware of the effect he was having on her.

"Shall we get going zen?" he asked, holding open the door for her. Seras nodded dumbly and allowed herself to be led from the room.

"Um..." she began as they walked leisurely down the hall. "I suppose I should apologize... for trying to eat you that is."

He laughed roguishly and said, "I 'ave to say I might 'ave enjoyed being eaten by a pretty thing like you, girlie."

Seras blushed again, or at least she thought she did. "Well I didn't appreciate being made into a vampire..." she muttered.

"You couldn't make me into a vampire if you tried," Pip replied. "You 'ave to be a virgin to be turned. I would just become a ghoul."

"A ghoul?" Seras repeated curiously.

"A monster puppet... like zombies, I guess," he added with a shrug. "Eetz what happens when a vampire bites someone who eezn't pure."

"I didn't know that," Seras admitted. "Actually, I don't know anything about being a vampire, except that I really want blood."

He chuckled. "Zere's a lot zat I couldn't tell you. Alucard only reveals what 'e says I "need to know"."

At the mention of her Master's name, Seras felt her stomach twist. She tried to play it off by asking, "What _do _you know?"

"Mostly just 'ow to kill zem. When foreign vampires start to invade ze area, Alucard sends me out to take care of zem, if he doesn't consider zem worth 'is time."

"So... are the legends true?" Seras wondered. "Silver and garlic and stuff?"

"No garlic, but silver yes, particularly if it 'as been blessed by a priest. Crosses usually just delay zem. Of course, even with ze silver, you still 'ave to pierce zeir hearts, or cut off zeir heads. Burning is effective, but usually takes too long in ze midst of a fight."

Seras blinked. "So you could probably kill me...?"

Her inner vampire hissed in fear, and a voice in her head suddenly said, _Don't get any ideas._

_I was just asking, Master._

"Alucard said you might ask zat," Pip said somberly. "I can't kill you, girlie. Not even if you ask me. It would be ze end of my life."

Seras sighed. "I figured as much."

"Why do you want to die anways?" Pip wondered.

Seras shot him a quick warning look, as if to say 'none of your business.' He just grinned at her expression.

"You're too cute, mon cherrie," he said. "You don't even look like a vampire."

Seras shrugged. "I haven't looked at myself since I was changed, so I wouldn't know."

"Well, let's just say zat you don't exactly do ze whole 'frightening' thing zat well. What are you, 5' 6"?"

"5' 7"," Seras replied indignantly.

"But blond hair and blue eyes?" he questioned.

"What's wrong with those?" Seras asked angrily.

"Nothing!" he replied. "I just expect most vampires to look ze way Alucard does. You know, red eyes, long black hair, creepy grins..."

Seras chuckled. Her master _did_ fit the vampire stereotype perfectly. All he needed was a cape...

"...of course, your eyes were red when you tried to eat me," Pip continued thoughtfully.

"What?" Seras asked with a start. "My eyes changed color?"

Pip shrugged.

Seras felt a pang of misery deep in her gut. Would they eventually alter permanently, the way her Master's were? What else would change? Would her hair turn black? Would she wear a manic smile all the time?

_What am I becoming?_ She wondered miserably.

_Something glorious, _her inner vampire said reverently. _You will not regret it, once the transformation is complete._

_That doesn't stop me from regretting it now, _Seras replied. _And if I regret it at this instance, that is most likely a sign that I _should _regret it always, even if I will not._

_There is nothing you can do to stop it, _the vampire insisted. _A monster is a monster until death finds it. And then it is just food for the hell hounds._


	4. Worth Murdering For

**Chapter 4**

**Worth Murdering For**

Seras let out a heavy sigh as they stepped out of the castle and into the night. Above her the stars clung to the velvet blue like diamonds, glimmering beautifully. Her eyes widened as she took in the vastness of the sky, silmultaneously aware of every piece of it, now magnified wondrously within her unnatural gaze. She saw not only stars, but the rings of distant planets, a comet a million miles away, with it's glittering tail showering sparks in the black, cloudy bands of asteroids and satellites blinking in the dim. For a minute she stopped dead, her mouth loose with awe.

She had never seen anything more stunning in her life.

"What eez wrong?" Pip asked, frowning when he realized she was no longer walking with him.

"The sky..." she whispered. "Is it always like this in Romania?"

Pip raised an eyebrow. "You mean ze clouds? No, zey pass with the changing seasons."

"Not the-" she began, but then it occurred to her that this sky was not the sky of Romania, but the sky of a vampire. Pip couldn't see what she saw. She could not help feeling a hint of pity for him. She could surely spend an eternity lying beneath the stars.

"Um," Pip hesitated, looking at her uncertainly.

Seras forced herself to look away from the heavens. "Nevermind," she said quickly, barely stifling her smile. "We should get going. I'm getting pretty hungry, and I might have to eat you as a snack."

For a moment, Pip faltered. Then he realized she was only teasing him and smiled roguishly, "We'll take one of ze trucks. Even if you are fast enough on foot, I'm only a 'uman."

_That's true, _Seras decided. _Only a human: mortal, slow, dim-eyed._

Her inner vampire remained triumphantly silent as Pip led her into a makeshift garage (which was little more than a hole blasted into an overhanging cliff.) He opened the door for her and she climbed in with a grateful smile. He then hurried around to the other side of the truck and shifted it into drive, steering them out from beneath the rocky ceiling and once more under the glorious night sky.

Seras forced herself to make conversation and not to get lost in the beauty of the world above her. She did, however, note that there was no moon.

It took around half an hour to reach their destination, a town of reasonable size where one missing person would not stir up too much trouble. They rolled through the outer streets.

Pip shot her an uncertain glance. "Do you 'ave a preference?" he asked.

Seras flushed. "Er... I don't really know," she confessed. "I've never eaten a human before."

The situation suddenly seemed far too real for her. How could she choose which unfortunate person to destroy? How did one human deserve it more than another?

"Perhaps if we get out... you will smell a good one, or something?" Pip suggested.

"Yeah," Seras agreed feebly. "That sounds good."

They parked the car in the shelter of an allyway and the two stepped out. The stench of humans collided quite fiercely with Seras's senses. She started to gag as her vision blurred crimson, and her fangs lengthened in her mouth. Her stomach roared it eager approval.

"You should get back in the car," she gasped to Pip, trying to remember that she could not touch him no matter what.

Pip did not hesitate to obey, his face flashing with concern.

Seras held her breath and shut her eyes, trying to block out the sensations of the smells. But she could steal hear the heart beats of every human within a mile of her.

Pip's was loudest, barely feet away. Seras quickly darted from the car, trying to block out it's sound. _Pip, _she repeated in her mind. _He has a name, and a life..._

As she attempted to move faster, she suddenly burst forward with speed she had never experienced, crashing through a wooden fence and landing in a dumpster. Spluttering, she lept from the mess with disgust.

_How did I move so quickly? _She wondered, picking bits of spoiled cabbage off her clothes.

Her eyes then fell on the wreckage of the wooden fence; she wasn't even scratched.

Shaking her head vigorously, she tried not to consider what she had done. How could she be so strong, or so fast? Even for a vampire... vampires couldn't really be so powerful, could they?

_And why not?_

Seras whirled as her Master's voice resounded in her head, her heart thumping lightly.

"Master?" she called aloud, scanning the shadows for any sign of him.

_Pay me no mind, _he suggested.

"But why are you here?" she whispered.

_Miss your first hunt? What sort of master do you think I am? _There was laughter in his voice, which surprised her.

"Master..." she murmured. "I don't know if I can do this... I can't tell one person from the next!"

_My dear Police Girl, where is that startling control you displayed to me in past? Calm yourself and choose an appropriate target, someone young and healthy._

"But if I rationalize," she whispered, "I'll realize what I'm doing! I'm murdering for my own gain!"

_Murder is defined as the meditated killing of one human being by another. You are not human. This is no different than a wolf killing a rabbit._

"It's not that simple," she insisted. "These people have thoughts and families! They can love and hate, be good or evil..."

_Then slaughter the evil ones if that is what it takes, _he replied dismissively. _But do it quickly before your hunger drives you to strike down an innocent._

Her thoughts flashed to Pip, causing Alucard to burst out laughing within her thoughts.

_I meant a child! _He howled. _That rogue is anything but innocent! Why else would I keep him alive and aware of himself?_

"Pip is...?" she said blankly.

_Ah, here come some people, _Alucard said eagerly. _What will you do, Seras Victoria?_

Seras could feel them, too, the blood in their veins pulsing invitingly.

The humans appeared at the end of her alley, a young couple with their hands locked together, smiling at eachother without a care in the world.

_No, _she thought fiercely. _Not them._

_But they are young, _her vampire protested. _Young and healthy..._

"No," she said aloud. "I'll wait."

It was easier said than done. Her hunger caused her to double with pain, her fangs ripping into her lower lip and sending spurts of her own icy blood into her mouth.

_And now you are tormenting me, _Alucard sighed dramatically.

Seras ignored him, blocking herself off to the beautiful call of the human blood.

Her patience paid off as it slowly grew dimmer and dimmer in her heart, relieving her of her thirst. She sighed in relief as the couple disappeared into the night, safe from her fangs.

_I'll admit that it's impressive, _Alucard said silkily, _but it's not quite my taste. All humans are corrupt one way or the other. You should have heard what the boy was thinking about that poor girl... and that poor girl was thinking about a different boy. You see? Innocence is a joke._

"Thoughts and actions don't always align!" Seras insisted. "It's not a crime until it's actually done."

_If you say so, _Alucard allowed. _But it's unhealthy for the soul._

Seras snorted. "If I want advice on keeping my soul healthy, you'll be the last person I go to."

_Such a pity, _Alucard chuckled. _They say that fledglings and masters have the strongest of bonds..._

Seras shook this off, though from the way her heart leapt at the mere mention of his name, she had to admit it was true. _It's only temporary, _she insisted to herself.

_Another pity, _Alucard murmured, and then his presence faded completely.

Seras, without her blood ringing excitedly in her ears, was able to concentrate on hunting. She listened intently for any sounds of life, but the street beyond her ally seemed to be empty.

Frowning she dashed nimbly to the end of the dark ally and looked both ways along the deserted road. It was all but empty, save a few middleage men hanging outside a bar and smoking, talking in low voices. There was an intersection around 200 yards away still lit and populated, though given the hour, the crowds were growing thinner. Seras made her way towards it, but had to remind herself not to run or draw attention to herself. She had to appear human.

She stalked swiftly but not too swiftly past the bar with the smokers, a few of which watched her appreciatively, but none called out to her or attempted to make a pass.

This was fine by Seras. None of them looked worth eating anyway.

She emerged into the light of the street ahead and had to restrain a hiss. Her eyes stung and her skin prickled uncomfortably, but it was bearable so she proceeded, her eyes watching everyone carefully.

The masses churned in the growing darkness, looking through dark shop windows, and exitting restaurants and the small theater before heading home for the evening.

As Seras felt her chance to feed slipping, panick seized her. The three days without food had been more than a little painful. She felt as though if she did not succeed quickly, she would fail completely.

A group of teenage girls walked past her, their hair fanning in a faint breeze, the scent of their necks floating back to her.

_No! _Seras growled to herself. She felt her vision flashing crimson once again, her teeth pressing against her tongue with growing need. She longed to sink them deep into the soft, taught flesh...

_No! _she yelled again. _I won't harm the innocent!_

She tore her eyes away from their alluring forms, and padded quietly in the opposite direction.

And then she saw it: her saving grace. It was a gamble, but what choice did she have.

Looking both ways before she did so, Seras quickly darted up the stairs and into the sheriffs office.

"Can I help you, miss?"

"Er..." Seras had not anticipated having to deal with an officer. What an idiot she was. Thinking quickly, she forced a frightened expression to her face.

"Just now! Some men were chasing me!" she said, distraught. "I didn't know what to do!"

The officer leapt to his feet, his hand settling on the gun at his waist. "You stay right here and I'll take care of this!" he said determinately. "Now which way did they go, miss?"

Sobbing dryly into her hand, Seras pointed in the direction she had just come from and the officer hurried out the door.

Soft clapping filled the room. Seras, though she knew who it was, still whirled accusingly and faced her master for the first time in days. He was not wearing his usual old fashioned attire, but rather a dark suit, his ebony hair slicked and smooth, a pair of glittering orange lensed glasses settled on the bridge of his nose.

He lowered them slightly to gaze at her, his white fangs glinting in the dim lighting.

_Well done, Police Girl,_he admonished. _I didn't know you had it in you._

"Master, what are you...?" she said, her eyes skimming up his unusual clothes, and not without a hint of appreciation.

_Like what you see? _He wondered mishieviously.

Seras colored, her fists clenching. "Hardly," she snapped, walking swiftly passed him to the steel adjoining door. She frowned.

_Locked, _Alucard said for her, snickering.

Seras turned steely eyes on him and then turned back to the door. _Time to see how strong vampires really are, _she decided, and with all her might, slammed her shoulder deep into the metal.

With an earsplitting bang, the door flew threw the air and embedded itself deep in the opposite wall. There were only two criminals here, both of which were hanging against the bars, their eyes wide with alarm.

_Efficient, but not elegant, Police Girl, _Alucard said, examining the destruction she had caused.

Seras was barely aware of his words. Her vision had begun to hum a brilliant red, her eyes narrowed on the necks of her future victims.

_Both? _Alucard was clearly enticed.

Seras paid him no mind as she advanced, her eyes fierce with hunger. She barely felt the crunch of metal as she ripped back the bars and stepped into the cell cornering one of the men in a quick easy movement. Her hands found him quickly, held him to her like a doll, pushing his head to one side. She bit without a second thought, her hunger now too painful to manage any longer.

It was like nothing she had ever tasted.

Every fiber of her being hummed with delight. How could anything taste so wonderfully satisfying? The hot blood washed over her tongue and teeth, sending glorious tremors down her spine. Her cheeks glowed with the warmth of her victim, his blood now pulsing in her veins.

_You let one get away, _Alucard observed, snatching the fleeing human without so much as a backward step. _Then I'll take him as mine._

The smell of blood grew thicker in the air as Alucard fed mere feet from her, the two vampires eagerly draining the lives from the imprisoned men.

Seras finished first, dropping her corpse to the ground and licking her lips satisfactorily.

"I wanted him, Master," she said, frowning as Alucard continued to devour the remaining man.

As the elder vampire finished, he grinned in amusement. _A better plan would have allowed you to enjoy both, _he instructed. _Try breaking a leg or two. To keep them from getting away._

A sudden groan caught Seras's ear and she leapt back as the corpse she had just created rose from the ground.

BANG!

The corpse disintegrated into dust and blood. Alucard held the handle of a large, smoking gun, a manic gleam in his eyes. Another gunshot ensured that the other corpse remained as nothing more.

Seras swallowed hard.

_I suggest we leave now, _Alucard said stonily, his eyes flitting to the door.

Seras nodded fervently and began to search for an exit before something siezed her from behind. She was pressed into a muscled chest, her eyes still wide with surprise, as cold air blasted them from every direction, causing her to bury her face within the folds of her Master's suit.

As the wind died down, she opened her eyes once more and found that she was in Alucard's chambers. Breathing heavily, she asked, "How did you _do _that?"

He raised an eyebrow at her quizically.

"That... wind thing!" she exclaimed. "One minute we were there, but now..."

Deep laughter resounded, and it took Seras a moment to realize that it was not only in her head. Her eyes widened, flashing instinctively to the ceiling.

Alucard, too, was listening intently, his eyes narrowed. _Talk to it, _he instructed silently.

"Why are you laughing?" Seras called, for lack of anything better to say.

The voice cackled mischieviously. "For a human-lover, you certainly take to vampirism quickly. I can feel your satisfaction."

Seras quickly realized he was referring to the fresh blood humming in her veins. "I never said I was adverse to feeding," she said indignantly.

"Your demeanor has changed as well," the voice replied delightedly. "You seem... pleased with your new abilities."

Seras blushed as her master's eyes burnt into her. She did not like being so easily read. With Alucard in her thoughts, and the voice in her soul, there was no privacy at all.

"Perhaps it is not as bad as I thought it would be," she admitted. "It's only a matter of time, but... I can make the best of it for the moment."

"You talk as though you are slowly dieing," the voice observed. "Yet I cannot detect an ounce of will to proceed down that path. Admit it, fledgling. You _like_ being a vampire."

Seras bit into her lower lip, her eyes glaring into the stone overhead. "How could I like being a monster? It is not I, Seras Victoria, that likes this path, but the vampire I work to control inside of me."

"The distinction is flickering," the voice replied curiously.

"I will not become her!" Seras snapped with such sudden force, she surprised even herself.

The laughter returned, growing fainter all the time. "There is as much a risk of that as there is of her becoming you..." It trailed off into nothingness.

Seras let out a breath of air she didn't know she'd been holding. Her eyes slowly lowered to Alucard's, who was staring at her with something akin to disbelief. It was as though he had never seen her before.

"Master...?" Seras said hesitantly.

A slow grin crept across his lips. _And here I expected you to fail. _He laughed from within her. _Well, I clearly misinterpreted myself. Two hundred years can have that effect I suppose._

Seras blinked at him. "What are you...?" she began blankly, but he dismissed her with a hand.

_No matter, my little fledgling. Go back to your room for now. You've done well this night._

Seras obeyed without hesitation, her inner vampire roaring with delight and approval. Even Seras had to admit that her heart leapt at the approving gleam in his eyes.

_The distinction is flickering._

Seras sucked in an uneasy breath. _I can't forget, _she insisted to herself. _Master is a monster._

_But so are we, _her inner vampire said softly.

Seras shook her head. "I'm not the same as him," she said aloud.

_We fed together._

_He would have had me murder innocents, _Seras countered.

_No one is innocent. Not even us._

_Especially not me, _Seras agreed, and for just a minute, a glimmer of her human life flickered past her eyes. Why did it all seem so distant? It had been less than a week.

_Because it is nothing to us now. What we want... is Master. For Master to be pleased._

_That's what _you _want, _Seras reminded her inner voice. _What I want is death._

_Is it? _Her inner vampire wondered. _I thought you could spend an eternity under that sky._

Seras faltered as the beauty of the night rushed back to her. _And is such a sky worth murdering for?_

_No, _the vampire decided._ But Master is._


	5. Fading Distinctions

**Chapter Five**

**Fading Distinctions**

"I saw the sky last night," Seras whispered to the empty air.

"And why do you feel the need to tell me that?" the voice in the ceiling drawled, clearly disinterested with the new path the conversation had taken.

"That's why I changed," Seras explained. "In all my years as a human... I've never seen anything like it." She laughed slightly. "It took death to open my eyes to beauty. I couldn't help thinking... 'I want to watch this sky forever.' And the feeling of strength... the speed. It's overwhelming."

"What you're saying is... you _like_ being a vampire," the voice stated. "Well I could have told you that."

"But I don't like killing," Seras frowned.

"That will change over time."

Seras sighed miserably. "I have no doubt. That's why I have to hurry."

"Hurry?" the voice said curiously. "Your body is pulsing with determination. What are you planning, little Police Girl?"

"Aren't you at all curious about your connection with Alucard?" she asked abruptly.

"My connection with who?" the voice said, sounding amused.

"The vampire who's castle this is," she replied. "My master."

"Ah, him," the voice observed. "And what connection are you speaking of?"

"Well, surely you must realize that... you are rather unnatural," she said simply.

He cackled. "And who is a vampire to tell me that?"

"Think about it," Seras insisted. "Have ever met anyone else like you?"

"Meet is a physical action."

"Spoken then," Seras corrected.

"Also physical."

"Felt!" Seras cried in exasperation. The voice chuckled at her frustration.

"No I have never "felt" some one like me," it allowed. "But that says nothing about my kind. I'm not an overly social being."

"You have to _be _to be a _being,_" Seras pointed out. "And that should be the sign that you're not meant to be the way you are. Something's wrong with you."

"And might that be?"

"You should have a body," she said quietly.

"What would I do with a body?" the voice wondered. "I have no bodily desires."

Seras snorted. "Shows what you know."

"I think I see what you're implying," the voice said at last, and there was no amusement left in it. "You are trying to say that he and I are one."

Seras lay perfectly still on her bed, waiting for him to continue.

"If indeed this is true, little draculina, explain how such a thing is possible."

"A curse," she blurted out. "Inflicted by a vampire hunter to split the soul and make his enemy weaker."

A piercing silence followed her words. At last, the voice replied, "And how did you happen upon such an interesting solution?"

"Master mentioned it," she murmured.

"So he is keeping you alive... because you spoke with me?" the voice realized.

"Yes."

The voice began to laugh loudly. "And here I thought you were special! And he no doubt thinks the same! What a vicious cycle it is. Our fascination with you revolves around eachothers fascinations."

"Regardless," Seras snapped, sitting up quickly, "You should speak with him. He is trying to reach you."

"And what could be gained? I have no desire to change, to be bound to the physical world again. And now, not even curiosity can compell me."

Seras shook her head. "You're lying," she insisted. "Didn't you start the cycle after all?"

"I misjudged you then."

"How? You feel what I feel. Something called you to me as I lay in that cell!"

"What would you know of it?!" it demanded, suddenly very aggressive. "You think highly of yourself! A human call me?!"

"And what are you?" Seras said angrily. "You are nothing! But I can change that if you'll give me a chance!"

"Rely on you?" it inquired flatly.

"Yes," she said. "Or talk to one of the other girls. I don't care."

"Either you are very passionate about serving your Master..." the voice observed slowly, "or there is something in it for you."

"I will be rewarded if I can help my master," she replied stonily.

He chuckled. "And what was the given price?"

"Death."

"...death?"

"Yes," she nodded.

"You wish to die?"

"This world is painful."

"There is no pain in your emotions," it countered, seeming both disappointed and confused.

Seras glared into the ceiling panels. "You can't read me just like that," she informed him.

"But that is where you are mistaken," it replied. "You are my book."

"Do you even know what a book is?" Seras laughed.

"It can be read at will, correct?" the voice checked.

"Yeah, that's about right," she agreed.

"Then I was correct; you are my book. Everything about you lays open and naked for me to explore."

"You said you could only partially read my thoughts," Seras said forcefully.

"Emotions say far more than your mind does," it replied. "In knowing your emotions, I know you."

"And what am I?" she inquired, curious to see how much he could actually say of her.

"A nuisance," he replied.

"That's cold," she huffed. "I'm just trying to help after all."

"No, you are trying to gain something by manipulating me."

"Even if I am," she said quickly, "That doesn't mean that you lose! At least talk to him..."

"I am not interested."

"Why?" she said angrily. She could feel her freedom slipping quickly away.

"I simply don't like him," the voice said decissively.

"W-what?" Seras stumbled out, trying not to laugh. "How can you not like him? He's you!"

"If that is so, then he is the weaker half."

"But how can that be?" Seras asked, smiling to herself. "You don't even have a memory!"

"And is that the worth of someone?" the voice wondered. There was an unfamiliar intensity about it. "If you woke up not knowing who you were, would that change you as a person?"

"It might," she decided. "Afterall, it's experiences that shape us, and scars that teach us."

"Or hinder us," the voice added. "The wisdom of a child is unparalleled, still innocent, with eyes that see truth."

"Yet a child cannot recognize danger," Seras retorted. "That is why parents must watch them constantly in their early years. They walk into traffic, eat things they shouldn't... they're helpless without experience."

"Are you calling me helpless?" the voice asked in a softly dangerous tone.

"Not helpless... but more ignorant of the world. You've never felt love or loss, or pain, or fear... how can you exist without those things?"

"Effortlessly," the voice said simply. "Without such troublesome constraints, I am free to do and think as I please."

"But what is there to do?" she demanded. "What are you living for?!"

"Myself," he replied.

"And what are 'you'," she asked quietly. "A voice in the ceiling... and nothing more."

"Perhaps..." it agreed softly and almost (if she was not mistaken?) sadly.

Seras suddenly felt a pang of guilt gush through her. "Can I name you?" she asked suddenly.

"Name me?" the voice repeated, sounding amused.

"Yes," she replied eagerly. "I want to be able to address you."

"You assume I do not already have a name..."

"You didn't tell me back in the dungeon, I don't expect it now," she countered. "Which is why I'm going to call you... Humphrey."

The voice roared with laughter. "Brilliant!" it howled. "To choose such a horrendous name! Of course I have to tell you now... so clever, Police Girl!"

Seras blinked in confusion.

"You may call me Vlad," the voice continued.

"Like Vlad Dacula?" she repeated doubtfully.

"Dracul, you silly girl. And where have you come across such a name?"

"Bram Stoker's Dracula," she replied cheerfully. "It's a must-read novel about the vampire Dracula, and the man who eventually defeats him. You see Dracula..."

Seras trailed off, knitting her brow together in thought. _Dracula_. A vampire in a Romanian castle... but spelled backwards, it was... "Alucard!" she realized, clapping her hand to her forehead. "Master is... and you are... Dracula! The story is real!"

_Don't be ridiculous, Seras._

A swift chill passed through the room as Alucard entered, as tall and menacing as ever.

He continued, _there never was a Jonathon Harker. Or a Mina for that matter. It was Abraham Van Hellsing that did this to me, and that is all. Your discovery is pointless._

"I-," she mumbled, staring at him in awe. "I didn't mean anything by it, Master... I just find it interesting."

He walked slowly closer, making Seras shrink with uncertainty. _Why so cold? _He asked softly.

"I'm just wary of course," Seras replied. "As I always have been with you."

_Such a pity..._ Alucard sighed. He continued his slow advance. _I heard you speaking with my voice._

Seras' head fell. "He doesn't want to talk to you," she said dejectedly. "He says even if you and he _are_ the same, he's not interested in rejoining you."

Alucard raised a curious eyebrow, a smirk playing at the corners of his mouth.

"You're paraphrasing, Police Girl," Vlad put in lazily. Alucard's eyes snapped upward.

"How am I paraphrasing?" Seras demanded.

"You forgot the part where I said I'm the superior half," he returned maliciously.

"I already said, that's impossible!"

_No, Seras, _Alucard interrupted. _It's not._

"W-what?" Seras whispered.

_I told you it was an uneven split. Most of my powers... my ability to change my form, regenerate quickly, move things with my mind... that was left with him. All I have is my brute strength._

"You can disappear from one place and reappear in another though!" Seras interrupted. "And you can read minds!"

_It is borrowed help, energy withdrawn from my loving, devoted fledglings. Why else would I have three brides? Aren't you alone enough of a nuisance?_

"I'm not your bride," she growled, her inner vampire mourning.

_On the contrary, my dear Seras, you are more my bride than any of the others._

Seras folded her arms. "You and I had a deal."

_Which I have not violated. By that I meant I chose you simply... because._

"Because?" Seras repeated.

_Because you intrigue me._

"That's not a reason to capture someone and turn them into a vampire."

_I didn't plan to turn you until it became a necessity, _he replied.

"Because _you_ almost killed me," she reminded him. It had been a while since she thought about that incident, and like a fresh wound, anger ripped into her, making her eyes sting.

For just a moment, his expression flickered from predatory, to remorseful. But then his smirk reappeared. _And yet you work so hard to have me kill you now. Admit it, Seras Victoria. From the beginning, death was always your intention. Your desire was to have me reunite you with your lost love ones. You just didn't plan on my advances before this occurred._

Seras folded her arms beneath her breasts. "Nor should I have. Why couldn't you just eat me and be done?"

_I never planned to eat you, _he said again. _You are far too alluring for such a fate. But to turn you... that was always a temptation in the back of my mind. _He loomed over her, his eyes humming with desire.

Seras felt a shiver run up her spine, and she could not decide if it was from fear or something else. "You do realize... that I don't like you, right?" she said; her inner vampire hissed at the prospect.

Alucard only grinned. _Your eyes tell me differently._

"You have an influence over me that I cannot alter," she insisted. "It is nothing more than that."

_Of course, _he agreed. His voice dripped with self satisfaction, making Seras scowl.

"You've scared off Vlad," she said in annoyance, glaring upward at the ceiling panels.

Alucard chuckled. _How unusual that he should don such a title. And here I thought he had no memories. This savors of nostalgia._

"How long has it been since you went by Dracula?" she wondered.

_Dracul, _he corrected in a tone so similar to 'Vlad's' that it made her giggle. _I always possessed the name Alucard as an alias for travel. After Hellsing took his toll on me, I forsook the name Dracul forever, and moved my residence to the cliffs. Rumors of my broken power would have reached other vampire lords, those who had lived in fear of me many years ago._

Seras felt something in her stir, something like remorse; she quickly quieted it. "That isn't likely though," she decided. "You've taken precautions. And that's why you have Pip kill any vampires that come too close."

Alucard's eyes told her that she was very wrong. _There is only so much I can do. There was a time when I was more powerful than any vampire alive; I made many enemies for that alone, and my actions are not always gentlemanly._

"Basically you were a pompous asshole that walked all over everyone just because you could," Seras finished for him.

A smirk twitched at the corners of his mouth. _Something like that._

Seras could not quite help smiling back. The action felt foreign to her cheeks. _How long has it been since I smiled? _She wondered vaguely.

_I have a gift for you, _Alucard said suddenly.

Quite suddenly, Aleera, Marishka and Verona appeared in the center of the room. Between them was a long white wooden coffin, carved with thorned, bloody roses. As Seras looked closely, she realized that the petals were in fact painted with real blood, but it was not a human's.

"Master?" she said in confusion, eying it.

Alucard grinned at her wary expression. _Surely you do not expect to continue sleeping in a bed? _He asked. _We're dead, my darling Seras! And the dead belong encased in the ground. But don't worry, these basement halls are enough – I'll only bury you if it becomes necessary._

"Necessary?!" Seras snapped.

"You really are a fool." It was Aleera who spoke, her eyes fixed on Seras with distaste. "The mental connection works both ways."

Alucard's eyes flashed to Aleera with something like warning. He said something that only she could hear, and the scowling draculina vanished from the room once again, glaring hard at her master's newest fledgling.

Marishka and Verona looked to Alucard for instruction, but did not vanish. Instead Marishka said to Seras, "If you'd like, you can move into our room with us!"

Verona nodded her agreement. "It's quite spacious, and much less lonely."

Seras forced a polite smile. "I would hardly call this room lonely." Her mind strayed to the voice of Vlad Dracul, no doubt lurking somewhere nearby and pretending to ignore Alucard's presence. She looked to her master, "What would you have me do, Master? I can stay or move, whichever is more pleasing to you."

Alucard raised an eyebrow. _Why so obedient, Seras?_

She shrugged and (remembering Aleera's words) thought, _is it really relevant?_

_To me, yes, _he replied. There was something predatory in his gaze that unnerved her.

_Then perhaps I will stay with them, _she decided. _Wouldn't want to tempt you unnecessarily._

His grin grew. _Cat and mouse, then, _he said. _I like a good chase._

She frowned at him. _Don't get your hopes up. As strong as my desire to serve you is, my will to resist you is stronger._

His eyes burned like torches in the dim light.


	6. Favored

**Chapter Six**

**Favored  
**

"Move it over there," Aleera insisted, gesturing to the far corner of the spacious dungeon like room. Seras frowned at her surroundings. It was bleak and decrepit.

Sighing, she gave the ivory coffin a precise shove with her boot and it slid across the ground, landing exactly where Aleera had pointed, aligned perfectly with the wall.

Marishka giggled.

"You're a natural!" Verona chimed in. "I was breaking everything when Master turned me!"

Seras smiled down at the tiny brunette, suddenly realizing something very strange; out of all Alucard's fledglings, she was the least attractive. Well, at least in the face. Her figure certainly outshone the lightly-rounded chests of the romanian girls.

_But why should I care about that? _She asked herself. _I don't care if Master finds me attractive._

_Liar, _her inner vampire piped up.

_Do you ever shut up? _Seras asked.

_Eventually, _it replied. _After we become one. You should stop resisting._

_Never, _Seras said simply.

"Seras, can we dress you in some new clothes?" Verona asked eagerly, eying her modern attire with distaste.

Seras glanced down at her dirty, blood stained clothes. "I suppose... that might be good. But none of that old fashioned stuff!"

Marishka giggled again. "Does this mean we're going shopping?"

"We'll have to," Verona agreed cheerfully. "Aleera, do you wish to come?"

Aleera regarded the threesome coldly. "Lord Alucard hates when women wear modern trash."

"It doesn't matter for me though," Seras pointed out. "I'm not one of the brides."

The three girls looked suddenly very startled. "You mean..." Aleera said slowly. "That you and Lord Alucard haven't..."

"Of course not!" Seras said, blushing at the very notion.

"Aleera," Marishka whined. "You said that that was why Master hadn't called for any of us..."

"Lord Alucard is complicated," Aleera replied firmly. "We must not pretend to understand him."

Seras rolled her eyes, stifling a yawn. "It's nearly dawn. Do you mind if I pass out?"

"Please do," Aleera said icily. She walked to the door.

"Aleera?" Verona wondered.

"Lord Alucard summoned me," she replied. "I'll be back in a few hours."

Seras ignored the tiny pang of jealousy that echoed in her ribcage and flipped back the lid of her coffin, slipping in. The satin lining was remarkably comfortable, and she found herself drifting off into the warmth in no time.

The sun crawled across the sky, time spinning through her empty mind as she attempted to block out the emotions that had developed towards her master.

About an hour before sunset, she awoke to the darkness of her coffin, her unnatural eyes outlining the wood unconsciously. Her body complained, telling her that the sun was still in the sky and that she should be sleeping. So what had woken her?

Quite suddenly she realized she was not alone. A gloved hand wrapped across her mouth, muffling her scream.

_Hush, _Alucard ordered, restraining her wild movements against his body.

_Master! _Seras hissed, still struggling. _What are you doing?_

_Sleeping, _he replied, resting his head in the crook of her neck and inhaling deeply. Seras went very still at the feel of his breath on her sensitive skin. She could feel her face burning.

_But why here? s_he asked uneasily.

_Your blood calls to me, _he replied. His lips brushed against her collarbone, making her shiver.

_What happened to Aleera? _She wondered.

She felt him lift his head off her, his crimson eyes watching her in the dark. _You sound jealous, _he observed.

_Of course, a part of me it is, _she said plainly. _The part that is so very different from the rest of me._

_The part that craves blood, _he finished for her. _And I crave yours, _he added, shifting their positions so that he was on top of her, pinning her against the padded bottom of the coffin.

_What makes you think I will give it? _She asked.

_Your blood is mine, _he replied. _You cannot refuse me._

_Can't you drink of Aleera or one of the others? _She asked uncomfortably.

_Yours is stronger, _he replied. _Much, much stronger. I should never have denied the call._

_Why is mine stronger? _She asked curiously.

Alucard ignored her, again finding the crook of her neck. His tongue extended, glazing over the skin. Seras had to muffle a surprised squeak at the cold, sensuous feel of his touch.

_Will it hurt? _She asked softly.

_No, _he replied, and without further warning, bit deep into her flesh. His hand pressed over her mouth to keep her silent as he dragged the blood from her veins.

_Such a shame, _he said. _You won't be able to blush until you feed again._

_Sounds like a perk, _Seras muttered.

The blood flowing from her left hot trails along her insides. Her skin prickled eagerly, and an embarrassing heat began to gather in the pit of her stomach. Raw lust pulsed in her body, making her squirm. Her vision grew hazy, her body molding to his. She was sure that her inner vampire had never been happier before. However, some very, very small part of her was screaming angrily.

Absentmindedly, she ran her fingers through his hair, admiring the silky texture of the long strands. Her eyelids were growing heavy as the energy fled from her body.

Alucard seemed to decide that it was time to pull back. He licked the small holes on her neck gently, helping them to heal. Seras relaxed against the base of her coffin, breathing slowly.

_I feel weak, _she thought tiredly.

_Your blood is simply too delicious, _he replied with a grin, leering over her in the darkness.

Seras merely stared up at him, unable to move or speak. Her body, though exhausted, was pleased with itself, having served it's purpose of making her master stronger.

_Sleep, Seras, _he instructed, and then vanished in a rush of cold smoke. Her eyes slid shut almost instantly.

When she awoke, many hours later, it was to the faint sounds of crying. Without thinking, she tried to sit up, smacking her head hard against the wooden of her coffin with a pained yelp. Sniggering issued from beyond her coffin, but the crying did not cease.

Grumbling, Seras removed the heavy coffin lid and looked blearily around. Marishka and Verona we're standing with their hands over their mouths, stiffling giggles.

"I did that too!" Marishka blurted out. "About a dozen times..."

"It doesn't hurt for long though," Seras mused.

"Of course," Verona agreed. "Best part of being a vampire. You heal quickly."

It was only then that Seras noticed the two young women lying at the draculinas' feet.

"Who are they?" she said doubtfully.

Marishka grinned, showing pearly fangs. "Breakfast of course-"

"-or dinner, depending on how you look at it," Verona pointed out.

"They're a gift!" Marishka concluded. "From master. He says you need them."

"But I just fed-" Seras began, but then remembered what had occurred in her coffin last night. She was suddenly very grateful that there was not enough blood in her veins to allow her to blush. "I prefer to eat alone, if that's alright," Seras said.

"Of course," the other two said, and vanished almost instantly.

Sadly, Seras turned to the two struggling girls on the floor, both tied up.

"I'm truly sorry," she said to them. "But if I don't keep master happy, I don't get to die. Just relax and you won't feel a thing."

Seras did her best to devour the girls as quickly and cleanly as possible.

_My aren't you noble, Police Girl._

_I thought only Vlad used that nickname, _Seras thought in annoyance. _It's not as though I'm still serving._

_Perhaps I just like to imagine what you and I could do with a pair of handcuffs, _her master mused.

Seras felt her face glowing with fresh blood and humiliation.

_So much better, _Alucard noted with admiration. _You look healthy._

Seras didn't know if she could get any more like a tomato.

She felt a hand on her waist, and muscled torso against her back.

"Master..." she complained, shrugging out of the unusual hold. "What are you doing?"

_Seducing you of course, _he said plainly.

Seras glared at him. "We have a deal."

_I've been thinking about that, _he replied, smirking.

"A deal is a deal," she said warily.

_Just hear me out, _he replied

Sighing, Seras seated herself on the lid of her coffin. "What?"

_Instead of death being the reward... why don't I say you can have whatever you want, no matter what it may be?_

"What I want _is_ death," she retorted.

_And if you request that, I'll give it to you, _he agreed.

"And what if I ask you to cut off your own head?" she asked curiously.

_Gladly, _he grinned. _You see, my pet, I cannot die._

"So what if I asked you to kill yourself?" she wondered.

_I would be unable to oblige._

"What are you trying to gain?" she asked suddenly. "I could ask you to do something ridiculous, like wear a dress for a year."

_I've done it before, _he replied. _Would you care to see?_

Seras regarded him uncertainly.

Grinning, Alucard just took a step away from her. With a whirl of shadows and blood, he appeared before her as a girl no older than she.

_I rather like this form, actually._

Seras frowned. "I thought... you said you lost your abilities to transform."

The young woman grinned, flashing rows of ultra white teeth. _It's all thanks to you, my pet._

"Me?" Seras repeated.

_Your blood, _Alucard said. The shadows surrounded him once again and he reappeared as his normal self.

"You said it's stronger," she said quietly. "Why is that?"

_If I knew, I would not have bothered with such useless brides, _he replied. _But I do not know why it is you that makes me whole. So you wish to know what I have to gain from keeping you alive? I would think it was obvious._

"I'm not your crutch," she said quietly. "You and I already had a deal. And when I ask for death, you _are_ going to kill me."

_As agreed, _he replied, though his eyes were narrowed.

"Surely... if I can have this effect, there must be another girl like me?" Seras prompted.

Alucard turned away thoughtfully, a slightly manic expression on his face. _I should train you, _he said abruptly.

"Train me...?"

_In the arts of a vampire, _he said, his eyes burning with an unusual excitement. _A true fledgling! That's what you are..._

"Master?" she murmured. "What are you talking about?"

He cackled deep within her thoughts. _The things I could teach you! The potential you possess!_

"But what's the point?" Seras asked. "You're just going to kill me."

In a sudden violent movement, Alucard had her by the throat suspended feet above the ground, now eyelevel with him. Seras barely had time to gasp before painful tears began to leak from her eyes.

_Master! It hurts!_ She cried inside her head.

_Death hurts, _he snapped. _Do you really believe you'll be reunited with your family once you're gone? For us there is nothing after death! We are dust and nothing more!_

_You won't kill me, _she realized, her eyes widening.

_You will lose this bet, _he replied. _The connection cannot exist without you._

_You don't know that, _she insisted. _I have to hope-_

_Hope?! _He yelled. _And what do you know of that? You who dreams of death._

_Master, please put me down, _she begged.

_I will give you a reason to live, _he said fiercely.

_What have I d-? _she began, but all coherent thought came to a screeching halt when he crushed her tightly against him, his mouth locked firmly over hers. It was too unexpected; she could neither struggle nor respond as his tongue slipped between her lips, his hot breath filling her like the breath of life.

It was like nothing she had ever felt, as though her entire existence depended on him and only him. She collapsed against him, her arms winding around his neck desperately. For the first time ever, she and the vampire inside of her were one, and about this they were absolutely certain.

_We love him._

_No. That's not right. _Seras began to struggle as she realized what she was doing, and who it was with.

Alucard held fast, one of his hands fixed behind her head.

_You're mine, _he growled. _Only mine._

_Master, you promised! _She begged.

_Relax, _he soothed. _Do you think I'm planning to rape you? Do you think I would do that to you?_

_You already tried once!_

He broke away and stared down at her, an eyebrow raised as though he had no idea what she was talking about. This reaction only angered Seras.

"When I was still a human," she said coldly. "On the table in that room..."

Alucard began to laugh mentally, a thick grin splitting his face. _I don't sleep with humans, _he said.

"Then you were just feeling me up for fun?" she snapped doubtfully.

_You intrigued me. I wanted to see you without clothes before I decided to make you one of my brides. I wasn't planning to rape you. Whatever you think I am, my appetites do not tend in that direction._

"You said you only turned me because you had to," Seras reminded him darkly.

Alucard sighed. _I was rather undecided about you. My original intent was to keep you, but I began to find you... annoying, and thought it might be easier to eat you. Then you gave me a reason to keep you alive, but by that point it was too late to leave you human._

"That doesn't make it any better," Seras grumbled.

He smirked. _I have no reason to try to excuse myself. You are mine, in every way. I can do with you as I like._

"I don't understand what you're trying to prove," Seras murmured. "You're saying that our deal is null?"

_I am saying that by the time this is over, you will no longer wish for death. I will see to that._

"You think very highly of yourself," she scoffed. "What have you ever done to earn my allegiance?"

_I have fed you, _he replied.

"I can feed myself," she insisted.

_I have favored you above my other brides, _he stated.

"What?" she laughed. "How?"

_Look closely at the coffin I gave you._

"I have," she replied. "It's colored with real blood..."

_Not just any blood. The blood of one of my oldest enemies. That coffin was mine when I was younger._

"Yours?" Seras repeated in awe. Her inner vampire was purring in pure delight.

_We're his favorite, _it crowed delightedly. _The strongest, the most beautiful..._

"Master," Seras sighed, looking at the ground. "No matter what happens, even if I choose to live, I will not become your bride."

_So stubborn, _he mused, placing a gloved hand on the side of her pale face and trailing it tenderly down to her neck. _Why do you deny your body what it craves?_

"Because I am nothing to you," she said quietly, feeling her own heart sting at the words.

_I am offering you eternity, _he replied. _It is not a gift I give to anyone._

"Could've fooled me," she muttered.

_Jealousy is not becoming, _he scolded playfully. _But what have you to envy? I have told you that you are my favorite._

"That's not how it works," Seras said in disgust. "I don't want to be your _favorite_. You shouldn't be trying to make me your bride at all! You have three!"

_But I only need one if she is the right one. _

Seras suddenly felt very claustrophobic. Alucard was towering over her like a demon, his long silky hair surrounding him like a black veil, his eyes glowing flawlessly as they stared through her. The hand that had rested on her neck slid down and around her waist and pulled her closer.

"You just want me because of my blood," she decided, shifting away from him.

_It is more that I want your blood because I want you, _he replied, ginning at to himself as though this was some sort of joke.

"I've made my decision," she insisted, though she was certain the determination in her eyes was growing weaker and weaker.

_Why does he make me feel this way? _She asked herself, looking him up and down with an unusual mixture of disgust and desire.

_We love him, _her inner vampire said again. _He gave us life._

_A cursed life, _Seras said coldly.

_And yet you love it, _the vampire cooed from within her. _It is as though you were born for this; the strength, the speed, the senses._

_No! _Seras snapped. _This isn't me!_

_Let go of your human nature and let yourself grow._

_I just want it to end! _Seras cried. Only then did she realize that crimson tears were cascading down her face, and Alucard was still holding her, tighter than before, allowing her to sob into his shoulder.

In an instant she collapsed into him, her hands twisting into his white shirt now stained with the blood of her tears. She felt weak and empty, her human memories veiled in glistening mist, growing steadily more and more distant. Everything she had once adored felt like a dream.

But this- the feel of her master's arms around her, the taste of her own coppery tears against her moistened lips- nothing had ever felt more real in her life.


	7. A Servant's Loyalties

**Chapter Seven**

**A Servant's Loyalties  
**

"Re-Blue," Seras mumbled. It was an hour past dawn, and even Alucard had left her so he could sleep. She was laying in the base of her coffin, the pale lid abandoned on the floor a few feet away, her hands behind her head and a leg hanging over the edge. "This is a stupid game," she decided.

"You almost said 'Red'," Vlad noted curiously. "Why is that?"

"Because I'm a vampire," she suggested.

"Sarcasm, Police Girl, will only get you killed."

"And who would do it?" she inquired. "Certainly not you, since you have no body."

"You won't win me that easily," Vlad informed her.

"Does that suggest that I will eventually win you though?" she asked hopefully.

"Is that your question?"

"Might as well be," she replied tiredly. "Since all that interests you is my favorite animal, color, flower, country, and so on."

"Then the answer is yes. Yes it suggests it. Nothing more than that."

"Well, that's a start!" she said, perking up at once. "Maybe Master will stop trying to get me into bed if he thinks I actually have a chance!"

"He makes good time," Vlad chuckled. "You haven't been here that long."

"Quite a valid point," Seras agreed. "I hope he heard that. If he won't listen to me, maybe he'll listen to himself."

"Enough!" Aleera snapped, sitting up in her coffin and throwing Seras the dirtiest look she could muster. "It's day time!"

"Yeah, I'm.... sleepy..." Marishka murmured, lifting her lid just slightly. Verona's coffin was perfectly still, so Seras could only assume she had managed to sleep despite the noise.

"Where's your sense of loyalty?" Seras demanded of the other two. "This is for master after all."

Aleera rolled her eyes. "Lord Alucard knows it's useless. Everyone does. He just enjoys watching you struggle. Besides, what makes you capable of doing this?"

"I've made more progress than you ever could," Seras said, feeling her ego prickle.

"Lord Alucard would never assign me such a worthless task. I have been his fledgling for over fifty years. You are nothing more than a toy."

Seras did not have to be a mind reader to realize Aleera was jealous.

"And so she should be," Vlad added thoughtfully.

"Will you silence that voice?" Aleera snarled.

Seras stared at the elder draculina in shock. "Vlad and Alucard are one!" she said. "Vlad is my master, too! You would do well to remember that!"

"Lord Alucard, doesn't need such a worthless entity," Aleera sneered.

"There is nothing worthless about what Master lacks," Seras insisted. "Vlad holds much of Alucard's power."

"Don't waste your breath, Police Girl," Vlad laughed. "If I do agree to reunite with my body, I know what the first thing to go will be."

All was silent after that, through the day and into the night. Seras slept soundly, almost as though someone were lying with her, stroking her hair adoringly and holding her close.

xXx

"Master, this isn't working," Seras whined, rubbing her nose painfully. She had just, for about the hundredth time, attempted to phase through a wall, and failed miserably.

_You're not opening your mind, _Alucard replied lazily, reclining in his large throne like chair.

Seras folded her arms over her chest and leaned backwards against the wall. "Why are you so certain I can even do this? You said the other girls have incomplete powers."

_The bloodline is unbroken, _he replied smugly, as though this was some great accomplishment of his. _You have inherited my blood before the curse, not after._

"That makes no sense," Seras decided. "How can I inherit something that no longer exists? And why me and not the others?"

_I have theories, _he replied, still smirking in a very self-satisfied way. _Continue, Seras._

Sighing, Seras turned to face the wall again.

_Remember, _Alucard said softly, _it is not the wall that changes, but you._

_I know, Master!_ Seras said in exasperation.

Concentrating hard, she pressed the palms of her hands carefully against the cool stone, her eyes shut tight. She tried to envision herself slipping through the concrete gray, her body like liquid or mist just dripping through the cracks.

"Master..." she groaned, pushing against the rock.

_Force is useless, _he replied. She glanced over her shoulder and saw that he had his eyes closed, as though he was bored.

Frowning, she turned to the wall again. _It is not the wall that changes, but I, _she told herself firmly, closing her eyes tight. The stone felt so solid beneath her fingertips.

"I can't do it," Seras said, pushing herself backward in frustration. "And I'm hungry."

_You ate yesterday evening, _Alucard replied. _Two lovely young girls._

"But you practically drained me dry!" Seras protested.

_I do seem to have quite an appetite for you, _he said thoughtfully, his eyes traveling across her form hungrily._ How unlike me. I wonder, is it that your blood pulses with power, or that I love the way you react to my 'kiss'._

"The first, I'm sure," she said, shrinking backward.

Alucard pushed himself out of the chair and stepped towards her, his boots scuffing the floor lightly. _I wonder, _he added curiously, _what would happen if I drank you dry? Took your life for my own? Would my powers be reinstated fully, with your life sealed inside me?_

"You want to find out?" she suggested, sweeping her short golden hair to one side that he might have better access to her pale neck.

Alucard pushed her against the wall, her small form trapped beneath his. _But if I take your life, then who will be my bride?_

"I'm sure you'll find a suitable alternative," she assured him.

_A valid effort, Seras, but I'll keep you alive, _Alucard decided gleefully, pressing a soft kiss to her throat in place of the killing bite she had been hoping for. _You're too much fun to eat, my pet._

"I'm not your bride in the first place," Seras huffed.

Alucard tipped her head upward towards his, his gloved fingers tracing her jawline. His other hand found her waist and drifted downward along her thigh, making Seras tense in alarm. She was certain that if she hadn't been so hungry she would be blushing furiously. _And yet your body knows me, _Alucard said. _It knows for whom it was made._

"It's just because I'm your fledgling," Seras replied, her hands pressed against his chest attempting to keep some small amount of distance between them.

_You know very little of our kind, _he said calmly. _Well, that is my failing as a teacher. I have never had a reason to educate a fledgling before now._

"And why is that?" Seras wondered.

_I've never wanted to keep one before._

Seras felt a sudden rush of pity for Aleera, Marishka and Verona. "Has it ever occurred to you that what you're doing to the others is wrong?" she demanded.

Alucard raised an eyebrow. _You're feeling sorry for them, _he stated. _What a pathetic creature you are, so human and emotional._

"You use them!" Seras protested. "You fill their heads with lies of love and devotion and then throw them away in an instant!"

_They are not so naïve as you, _Alucard replied. _They knew what it was I offered them life for._

"It doesn't work like that!" Seras retorted. "They're your lovers after all."

_This conversation is useless, _Alucard snapped so suddenly it sent a tremor of fear down her spine. _You are uneducated and foolish._

Darkness began to spin through the air, icy wind rushing over them.

Seras instinctively moved closer to her master as the unfamiliar sensation surrounded her. _I've made him angry, _she realized, shutting her eyes against the sting of the bitter air.

Abruptly, the wind began to die, and when Seras opened her eyes, she realized they were not where they had been moments before.

"For ze love of-!" a startled Pip yelped, falling backwards out of his chair by his desk. "If I die young it'll be from a 'eart attack!"

Alucard gave Seras a shove away from him. _Take her hunting,_ he wrote in the air, and then vanished without so much as a backward glance. Seras trembled ever so slightly from the sudden change in atmosphere

"Merde!" Pip murmured. "What did you do to 'im, Girlie?"

Staring at the place he had vanished, she whispered, "I don't know."

xXx

"You seem out of spirits, mon cherrie," Pip observed.

Seras collapsed onto the concrete steps of the abandonned bank building, her head in her hand, sighing heavily. "I'm just tired," she replied.

"It's near midnight," Pip stated. "Isn't zis prime time for you vampires?"

Seras, glancing upward at the brightly lit sky had to admit that despite her lie, she was not even remotely exhausted. Her senses were alive with the stimulants of the night. It was a Saturday, and the city was still alive even at such a late hour.

Pip had taken her all the way to Bucharest, the capitol of Romania, so that they would not draw too much attention to themselves by feasting in one place. The crowded city streets were still full of youths and couples, wandering among the lights of theaters and restaurants.

There was a noticeable stench of alcohol that alerted Seras to the easiest targets. Nearby, a crowd of college age youths were stumbling through the street, laughing loudly. One of them broke off from the group and rushed to the nearest alley, his hand clutched over his mouth, as though he was about to vomit. The others seemed too drunk to even notice.

"Wait here," Seras murmured to Pip. His lone eye followed her gaze to the straggling boy, and his lips pulled downward in a grim expression.

"'ave fun," he muttered, turning his back.

Seras rose from the marble steps, brushing off her ridiculously filthy outfit, and trotted after the boy. She did not take long. It was too easy, with him confused and dizzy, and her infinitely stronger. The blood was wonderfully filling, and she found she was getting better at eating without making a mess.

She rejoined Pip after a few moments, licking her lips satisfactorily.

"All finished?" he asked.

"I'm still hungry," she replied.

Pip shrank backwards slightly, causing Seras to burst out laughing. "Not you!" she said. "You'd probably taste horrible anyway, with all those cigarettes you keep putting into you."

He grinned down at her. "You didn't seem to think so zat first time back at ze castle!" he teased.

"I'd have eaten a beggar I was so hungry," she said dismissively.

"Fine, fine!" he agreed, slinging an arm around her shoulders. "Where to next, girlie?"

"Since we're here..." she murmured, trying to ignore the pleasant feeling of his arm around her, "maybe we should do some shopping?"

Pip's face contorted with distaste. "Maybe I'll wait in ze car."

"But I don't have any money!" Seras protested. "I just want a new outfit. This one's starting to smell." She then tucked her hands behind her back and looked up at him with her large blue eyes as wide as she could make them. "Pretty please?"

Pip began to laugh, shaking his head in defeat. "Alright, girlie, you win! Just stop giving me zat look! You're going to get me killed!"

Seras beamed before turning and hopping down the steps two at a time. "I saw a department store back that way that was still open."

With a heavy sigh, Pip sauntered after her, his hands dug into his pockets. "Let's make zis quick."

For Pip's sake, Seras was as efficient as possible. She chose a simple pair of jeans and a long sleeve black tee. As she stood before the mirror in the fitting room, she couldn't quite get Aleera's voice out of her head. _Lord Alucard hates when women wear modern trash._

Pip paid for the outfit and the two left the store.

"Eetz good we arrived when we did," Pip noticed. "Zey close in fifteen minutes."

"It feels so good to have clean clothes," Seras said, stretching comfortably. "Thanks for paying."

"Eetz Alucard's money," Pip said with a shrug.

"What does a vampire need money for?" Seras wondered.

"Exactly what I want to know," Pip said. "And zis vampire 'as massive piles of it. Why would a vampire want 'uman servants? Alucard employs over two 'undred, and never touches one of them. We're safer working for 'im than we are being free. Pretty impressive, actually. Most vampires don't have ze control to handle such close associations."

Seras opened her mouth to respond, but something else caught her attention, something both familiar and strange at the same time. She froze in the middle of the street, her eyes narrowed, her ears pricked.

"Seras?" Pip said, turning when he realized she had stopped walking.

Seras pressed a finger to her lips to silence him, her eyes darting left and right. "Vampire," she realized. "But not one of ours."

In an instant Pip was back at her side, his gun at the ready.

"Seras, you don't know anything about hunting vampires, but eetz important zat you get zem in ze head or ze heart."

"Right," she agreed.

"Can you tell how many?" Pip asked quietly.

"Just one," Seras said.

"A vampire and a human! Oh that is rich!"

"British!" Seras said in surprise as a tall, silver-haired man appeared barely ten feet from them, his crimson eyes glittering. He was not as tall as Alucard, but he was broad chested and muscular, like a mighty fortress honed from years of labor and battle.

She shifted protectively in front of Pip.

"Well, this is nothing like I expected!" the other vampire said cheerfully, clapping his hands together with glee. "I smelled the delicious scent of one of my dearest old friends and here I find it is not he, but a little girl, skipping around with a human no less!"

"If you are a friend, then give me your name and I will report it to my master," Seras said warily.

"Now that's bad manners, little one," he scolded. "You're supposed to introduce yourself first."

Seras fixed her prettiest smile. "Sir, as you can see, I am but a young fledgling, still new in this unlife and certainly wary of men besides my master. Can you blame me for being cautious?"

"Well played, you manipulative serpent," the silver-haired stranger applauded, bowing low in an overdone gesture. "You are truly the child of Draculae. Who else your age could have such raw power? And to have such power naked and within my reach... it's almost criminally easy. Dear Vlad swore never to take a fledgling for this very reason. What could have possessed him to give it all to you? Unless..." his eyes raked up and down her form, "He has finally taken a queen."

"If he has, it is not your concern," Seras retorted. "I suggest you leave before I call my master."

"Go ahead, little one," the other vampire encouraged. "That would be a truly delightful reunion."

"Seras," Pip hissed. He pressed his lips very close to her ear and whispered urgently, "the curse only lets 'im so far from ze castle. We are out of range!"

"W-what?!" Seras gasped. "Then...?"

"We must reason, fight, or run," Pip finished. "My money's on the last one."

_But it doesn't hurt to reason first._ Seras decided. She called, "If you are truly a friend to my master then prove it."

The vampire grinned. "Prove it _how,_ little one?"

Seras smiled. "You're an intelligent man. Surely you can come up with something."

"And suppose I am not a friend," he suggested. "What would you do about it? Even with Draculae's blood, you are very, very young. I can still see your turning marks as clear as day."

_Run,_ the voice was her Master's, distant and weak.

Seras knew better than to disobey in such a situation. In a swift movement, she grabbed Pip, slung him over her back, and took off as fast as her inhuman legs would take her.

"Pip, which way?" she yelled, bounding instinctively up the side of a building and scurrying across the rooftop.

"N-North East," he stuttered, clinging to her with a death grip. Apparently, the Frenchman did not like heights.

Seras had strong directional instincts. Even if Pip had not been with her, something deep inside her alerted her to the distant presence of her master, dragging her towards it.

She ran as fast as she could, hardly daring to look over her shoulder, though the prickle of hair on the back of her neck told her that she was still being followed.

Seras could not say how quickly she was moving. Her survival instinct had overtaken rational thought. She was pounding over cities and towns and mountains and hills alike, through forests, taking rivers with a single bound. Once or twice she was fairly certain that she went right through an obstacle without even feeling it, but that may have been the fear addling her brain.

All the while, her mind was buzzing. _He'll follow me to the castle. Master will hate me. I've ruined everything. I've exposed his secret. Master will hate me. Master will hate me. He's faster than I am. I can feel him gaining. Master will hate me. What happens if he catches me? Will Master forgive me then? No. No matter what, Master will hate me._

Her thoughts traveled to the man on her back. If she stood and fought, Pip would probably die. But if she lead this vampire to the castle, her master in his weakened state might die. It was not hard for her to realize which man she was willing to sacrifice.

_Pip, Master, _she thought weakly, _forgive me._

And she stopped dead in the grass of a vast field, and turned to face her swiftly approaching foe.


	8. Worthy of a King

**Chapter Eight**

**Worthy of a King  
**

Seras let out a low cry as she skidded painfully across the dirt, Pip rolling to an unconscious halt several feet from her. The foreign vampire loomed over the young fledgling, his eyes glittering menacingly, his hand sheathed in her blood.

Seras coughed onto the grass, gritting her teeth so hard her fangs pierced her lip.

_Vampires don't die as easily as humans, _she told herself, watching the whole in her stomach slowly start to reform. _But he's still much stronger than I am. I can't even lay a finger on him._

_Let me take over! _Her inner vampire hissed impatiently. _It's our only hope!_

_No, _Seras insisted. _I want to die aware of who I am. If I give you power, I'll never get it back._

"Is this really the best you can muster?" the elder vampire laughed. "It's as though you've never worked a day in your life."

_You don't know me, _Seras growled internally. Her police training had not faded so much as other things when she became a vampire.

Rolling into a crouch, Seras let out a low, threatening growl. She sprang catlike from the bloodstained grass and bounded towards him. She saw his arm pull back in a punch, but years of self defense courses let her lean sideways, and with carefully applied pressure, she seized his arm.

A loud crack filled the night air.

"Not as innocent as you look!" he spat leaping backward a dozen feet and clutching his broken arm.

"I'm not half done!" she snapped, and rushed him before he had the chance to heal. Dropping to the ground at the last possible minute, she kicked high into the air, a blow aimed for his face. But in an instant, her boot met with air as he vanished. A sharp pain in her shoulder told her he had reappeared behind her.

She suppressed her miserable whimper as best as she could and reached behind her and grabbed the hand that had pierced her like a dagger. As much as it hurt, she wrenched herself free and spun, grabbing his neck with her free hand. Yet even as she crushed his throat, his remaining hand lashed out, right across her eyes.

"Ah!" she screamed as blood spewed from her face. She could see nothing, and feel only pain.

"That was a silver dagger," he informed her, grabbing her by the hair and forcing her into the dirt. "You won't heal so easily this time. I hope you enjoy blindness..."

Seras siezed the hand that held her and twisted so that he fell into the dirt beside her. She felt blindly over his struggling body for his face, and with all her strength, she punched his skull.

It crushed like a watermelon for a baseball bat, spattering blood and brains everywhere. Seras was suddenly very glad that she couldn't see.

She rolled away from the mess of her foe and vommited into the grass. Then she collapsed, clutching the hole in her gut, her eyes bleeding across the ground.

"Seras! Oi, Seras!"

"Pip," she murmured, grasping his hand as he offered it to her.

"It's alright, girlie, I got you!" Seras felt herself being hoisted into the air and strung across Pip's shoulders like a sack. She could feel Pip moving beneath her, running as fast as human legs could take him with such a heavy load.

And suddenly, Pip yelled as if in great pain, and the two tumbled to the ground.

"Pip!" Seras shrieked, grabbing him in her empty vision. Her hands fell on his chest, hot blood drenching them as they found the gaping hole in it. "No," she whispered in horror.

"Drink it," Pip coughed, his breathing ragged. "Take my blood."

"I can't!" she cried. "I'll get you back! You'll be fine!"

"No, Seras," he murmured. "Not zis time."

And suddenly she felt warm lips against her cold undead ones. As they fell back, his body went, too, collapsing into her arms.

"Pip!" she screamed. "No!"

If she'd had eyes to cry, she would have shed every last tear. But she was a vampire, and she was dying, too.

"Pip," she murmured.

"This is rather touching," the familiar voice of the elder vampire stated. "A human in love with a vampire. Or is it the other way around?"

"You," Seras hissed, her teeth gritted.

She rose from the ground, the body of the Frenchman cradled in her arms. She leapt backward, to buy herself time as she bit into her near-dead friend's neck and began to drain his blood.

The change was instant, like nothing she'd ever felt, filled with power and... love? Her heart ached to realize the feelings Pip had held for her all along, feelings he had never been able to recognize due to her menacing vampire master.

She laid the body gently on the ground, and as she rose, her newborn eyes opened, as clear as day, but somehow better than before. They saw farther, and everything was sharply defined and brilliant, as though lit by stadium lights. The pain in her stomach had subsided.

She saw her foe approaching fast, his claws outstretched, his beautiful face stretched in a frightening snarl. And she dodged. As easily as if she was dodging a two-year old.

"You're slow old man," she said, grabbing him by his hair as he passed her, and with this jerking backwards, sending him careening into the earth.

She came down hard with her elbow, driving it into his chest and snapping his ribs. Bone splintered through the skin, sending streams of icy blood across her face and hair.

"Did you really think you stood a chance against the child of Draculae?" she growled, driving her nails into the flesh of his stomach and ripping back, revealing his entrails for the stars above.

"Y-you-!" he spluttered, blood bubbling from his lips.

Seras was not finished. She would make him pay before he died. She broke his legs one at a time and peeled his skin and tore off his arms.

And when he could do no more than moan and twitch on the ground, she plunged her hand into his chest and ripped out his heart, crushing it in her fingers.

The body slowly disintegrated into dust. Seras backed away slowly, breathing heavily, tears leaking from her shining crimson eyes.

xXx

_Seras..._

"Master...?" she murmured weakly, slowly forcing her eyes open.

Alucard leaned away from her, anger burning in his eyes. _Stupid girl! _he hissed.

She was lying in the base of an open coffin, safe in the castle's interior. "What happened? How did I get back here?"

_What were you thinking, facing a full-fledged vampire?!_

"I couldn't lead him back here!" she protested. "You told me before, you had to go into hiding to protect yourself."

_Not myself you idiot! I told you, did I not? I cannot die! Everything is expendable! At least if you had been here I could have-! _He trailed off, rising from the ground and pacing across his bed chambers.

"Master, I was only trying to help," she murmured.

_And help you did, _he said distantly. _Had I not been convinced you were about to be killed, I might have greatly enjoyed watching your first real fight. You did well, Seras._

Seras, flushing slightly at the compliment, admitted, "But... I still failed you. I-I killed P-Pip-"

_Better him than you, _Alucard snapped, cutting her off mid-sentence. _Do you have any idea how close you came to dying?_

"Then at least I would have died for a reason," Seras muttered, staring up at the stony ceiling, "instead of for my own selfish reasons, simply because I've blocked myself off to the possibilities of this new life."

When Alucard looked at her again, it was with a hint of surprise and amusement, though the anger still echoed in the hardness of his eyes. _Are you outgrowing your teenage depression? _he inquired cruelly.

Seras shot a quick glare in his direction. Then, sighing, she added, "Maybe. It was like... in that one instant, I knew exactly what I wanted, without any doubt."

"And what was that, pray tell?"

"Vlad," Seras breathed in annoyance at the sudden unwelcome intrusion.

"You wanted me?" he said in mock delight. "How unexpected, I will have to have my voice cleaned."

"I wasn't talking to you," Seras growled.

"You seem rather hostile this evening," Vlad observed.

Seras shook her head.

_What did you want, Seras Victoria? _Alucard asked.

When she looked up, she found him to be startlingly close, his ablaze like wildfire. The sight rendered her momentarily speechless, before she managed to stutter, "N-never mind, it wasn't important."

"What is _this_ emotion?" Vlad wondered. "Golden and warm, yet humming. It feels delicious."

"Go away!" Seras snarled at the ceiling.

"I believe... it is attraction," Vlad said with all the smug satisfaction of the Cheshire Cat.

Seras never missed an opportunity to work on Vlad if it presented itself. "Well, it certainly isn't for you, you silly voice!" she said coldly. "You fight to repel your body, yet that is where so much of you lies; your personality is not exactly charming."

_The deal is off, Seras, _Alucard said, watching her closely.

_W-what? Why?_

_Because you don't want to die. And I don't want to kill you._

_But... Master... this is what I want._

_Death?_

_No. To serve you at all costs._

The connection that passed between them in that moment was unlike anything Seras had felt before, like being struck by lightning.

"Enough of this!" Vlad drawled, though he sounded more irked than bored. "Your silly crushes hold no interest to me."

"Yet you're letting yourself get worked up," Seras reminded him in a sing-song voice.

Vlad remained silent, and had probably ventured off to sulk. Alucard, who had been so stony moments before, was grinning from ear to ear, showing menacing rows of fangs.

_A true fledgling indeed, _he said. He grabbed her hand, and used it to pull her from the coffin, brushing his icy lips against it before he released her. _Then, my servant, it is my duty to train you, to make you able to defend yourself at all costs._

"Master, I have a question," Seras said even as he tried to lead her from the room.

_What?_

"Why was Pip's blood different?"

_It was willing._

"Willing?" Seras repeated curiously.

Alucard paused in the doorway and looked at her over her shoulder. _You should really spend some time in the library._

"We have a library?" she exclaimed.

_Not we, Seras. I have a library._

Seras shrugged. "What's the difference? I live with you, don't I? Which reminds me... where are the others? Aleera and Marishka and Verona?"

_Aleera is destroyed._

"Destroyed!" Seras gasped.

"Destroyed?" Vlad repeated. Apparently he was not as gone as Seras had suspected.

"Aleera," she repeated for his benefit.

He made a low noise of satisfaction, that caused Alucard to smirk. "So that was that shriek," Vlad mused. "Draculinas make a lovely noise when they die."

_She refused my orders. They all did. Those silly girls at least had the sense to disappear after doing so, but Aleera came back for something._

Seras repeated the story aloud for Vlad, who made 'hmm' noise at the end of her statement, as if prompting Alucard to continue.

And then, "The coffin!" Vlad realized. "So that was that smashing noise..."

Alucard's eyes widened slightly at Vlad's words.

_He read my mind, _he said to Seras.

Seras barely concealed her shock. "W-what coffin, Master?"

"Yours of course," Vlad interrupted again. "Who else would she be so jealous of? They say one man may have many draculinas but it always ends the same way. What a disgusting girl. Whatever did he- or should I say I? - see in her?"

"So you've accepted that you are only half a vampire!" Seras said triumphantly.

"As I said before, that means nothing," Vlad reminded her.

"And why not?!" Seras said angrily. "Surely you are intelligent enough to realize how much stronger you will be!"

"Silence, you insolent fledgling!" Vlad snarled.

"You can't order me around!" Seras snapped back. "You have denied your place as my master!"

"You are such a fool!"

Seras gasped, because the voice did not come from the open air, but from the mouth of Alucard.

"Master?" she whispered.

"I have his body now!" Vlad said through Alucard's lips. "And what will I do with it? Look at you? There are prettier things in the world."

"Give Master back his body!" Seras growled.

"Such an easily possessed mind, yet it is proof that we are indeed one," Vlad said in a bored voice. "It all fits like clockwork. His memories are my memories, and his feelings are mine. I can see it without a doubt. But I can also see his weakness, and I would never have tolerated if it were only me."

He seized her by the wrist and flung her backwards against the nearest wall. "You," he breathed angrily, grabbing her by the throat. "What makes you so special? Do you really think yourself so great that you deserve the devotion of the No-Life King?!"

"I never asked for devotion!" Seras said forcefully.

"And yet you try to flaunt it before me," he seethed. "Spouting about your attraction to my 'better half'! Do you think you are worthy of _my_ attention?"

"I wish I wasn't, because I get too much of it!" she retorted angrily. "This is why you always have been, and always will be, the weaker half! You have no desires that are your own, and no feelings, and, and... nothing! You have nothing! You are nothing!"

"I should crush _you_ into nothing!" he said poisonously, tightening his hold on her windpipe. Seras could no longer breath, let alone speak, but fortunately vampires do not need oxygen. Nonetheless the sensation was very painful.

_Master, _she thought weakly. _Master, forgive me. I failed again._

_On the contrary, _and it was definitely Alucard speaking, _you have at last succeeded._

And before she could even begin to process what that meant, she felt cold lips on her own.


	9. The Offering

A/N: I apologize for my hiatus! For those of you who have read my stuff before, I often get stuck about half way through a story and take a break. But I usually finish things right? So no complaining! ;p Anyway I apologize again, I assure you that I WILL be finishing this, and I hope you enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter Nine**

**The Offering**

Seras found herself being pressed hard into the wall as urgent lips moved against her own; the only thing in her mind was, _is this Alucard or Vlad?_

Her body was as tense as a board even as her attacker drew back. She stared upward into the familiar face, but felt nothing but uncertainty.

"What?" Vlad asked, his breath cold on her face. "You only like it when _he _does it?"

"Why are you competing with him?" she asked slowly. "Furthermore, why would _you_ kiss me? Me, a lowly fledgling?"

Vlad dropped her in an instant and backed away, his teeth gritted. "Playing with words, Police Girl? That's a bad habit."

"No worse than saying foul things in the first place," she said calmly.

"You have too much of a mouth on you for a fledgling," he replied with a voice like ice. "Your master should have taught you your place. You are weak and pathetic and useless. And I could kill you with a single finger."

"Then do so!" she snapped. "Or do something other than talk! You finally have a body, yet that's all you do. You're all talk!"

He laughed coldly. "And that's where you're fatally flawed. You're so convinced you're worth the effort!"

Seras felt her face flush. "I apologize, my master, if I have offended you."

Vlad scoffed as he paced around her like a hawk. "I'm sure you're _very_ sorry. So what is it? You want the brawn but not the brain? Is that why you choose him?"

"I have not chosen anyone, nor been given an opportunity to choose," she said softly.

"Well, here's your opportunity," Vlad replied. "Choose your master."

"What?" Seras repeated.

"Choose," Vlad said again. "If you choose me, I will keep this body for myself. If you choose him, I will release him, and that will be the end of our contact."

"But Alucard is my master..."

"I am your master as well," Vlad said. "Haven't you wondered why you inherited full power?"

"You?" Seras said, her eyes widening.

"Admittedly you intrigued me from the beginning. It's been amusing watching you attempt to convince me of what I already know. I knew I was only a piece of a being. How could I not? I can't leave the castle without him, and I feel his emotions accutely. The signs were too prominent. Nonetheless, you're determination fascinated me, and I wonder what might happen if I put a little of me into you as well when you lay dying on the bed. Amazing what can happen when we work together," he said with distaste. "And what is there to show for it, but you?"

"You can't make up your mind about me, can you?" she grumbled. "One minute you kiss me, the next you hate me! Obviously your ability for rational thought was left in your body."

Vlad laughed, grabbing her chin between his thumb and his forefinger. "That may be true. It's clearly your fault, and possibly the effects of this body. You smell criminal. It's driving me insane. I could get used to this, I suppose, if I could continue to taste and smell your blood."

"But," she murmured, staring up at him, "How can I choose between two people who are the same?"

"We are _not _the same," Vlad insisted.

"No, not the same, but part of the same thing," Seras replied.

"So that is your answer? You have denied me."

"Vlad, no-" she tried to protest, but he cut her off as he forcefully jerked his hand away from her.

"Pathetic little creature," he snapped. "I want nothing more to do with you."

Seras flinched when she felt his hand touch her again.

_Seras, _Alucard said calmly. _He is gone._

_Master, I failed! _She sobbed, sinking down along the edge of the wall. _He's gone forever now._

_No, you have succeeded, _Alucard assured her again, grasping her forearms roughly. _In possessing my mind, he has permanently linked us, and should I wish it, I can speak to him as easily as I can speak to you. I can let him hear my thoughts._

Seras looked up with surprise, then, felt depression hit her again. _But what's the point? He denied you, and me. He wants nothing to do with us._

_Seras, I know myself, _Alucard said with a wicked glint in his eyes. _Better than ever, now that I was able to see his mind. I can see exactly where the rip is, which abilities and characteristics are his, and which are mine. And most importantly, I can see his obsession._

His expression told her what words did not.

She found herself hugging her arms around her shoulders protectively, and tucking her knees into her chest.

_He treated me with contempt, _Seras said in disbelief.

_He hates his love of you more than he hates you, _Alucard replied, pulling her from the ground with as much ease as lifting a leaf. Seras felt her stomach clench as she stared into her master's face. Love? Was someone like Alucard even capable of that? Or was that something only Vlad could do?

_Split like this, our personalities are unbalanced, _Alucard explained, his eyes leaving hers.

Seras regarded him thoughtfully. _Then what do _you _feel for me, Master? _She asked, blushing lightly.

He grinned at her. _Fledglings are not at liberty to ask such questions of their masters. Perhaps I have been too soft on you. Well that will change. Training begins tomorrow night, and I'll teach you how to use your powers to their fullest extent._

"That sounds exhausting," she said aloud.

_I'll ensure that it is, _Alucard replied with dark delight, his eyes shining in a way that chilled her to the bone.

Xxx

Seras collapsed against the nearest wall once they were safe inside the cool dark of the castle, the sun right on their heels.

_You have poor stamina, _Alucard said, frowning at her.

Seras glared at him. It was his fault she was so drained afterall. According to Alucard, learning to be a proper vampire came through experience, so he had therefore decided that the only logical thing to do was to chase her all over the castle grounds, until she had eventually managed to get beyond his boundaries of comfort.

"And you say I have poor stamina," she chuckled to herself. "We were barely fifty miles...."

_Yes, and you do not have a curse on you, _Alucard reminded her.

"That reminds me," she murmured. "That one time... when I passed out after fighting that vampire... how did I get back to the castle? We were still too far for you to reach me."

_You ask too many questions, _ Alucard drawled.

Seras felt her vision pulse, and suddenly she was not looking at the interior of the castle, but at a field of blood and dust, a human corpse discarded nearby, and in the center a young, blond girl, her clothes soaked in blood.

The person through whose eyes Seras saw moved towards the girl, but collapsed, and began to vomit blood onto the grass. He looked down at his hands, at the steam rising from his arms as the skin boiled from his body.

He forced himself to stand shakily and progress towards the girl once again.

His steps were slow and uneven, his breath ragged in his ears. It took all his strength to lift the girl, just one tiny girl he could usually carry around like a toothpick.

The scene flickered, and then went out, and all she could see was the stone of the castle, and Alucard watching her with something like anger in his face.

_What did he show you?_ Alucard asked in a low dangerous tone.

"Who?" Seras asked.

_Vlad. He just gave you a memory._

"Ah... so that was your...?" Seras trailed off, suddenly staring up at her master with shock and awe. Was it possible... was it truly possible... that he had risked his life to bring her home? Her face turned a brilliant shade of scarlet as her stomach proceeded to turn itself inside out. She didn't know if she should be flattered or horrified at the notion that he would do such a thing for her.

_Seras, _Alucard breathed, his eyes piercing her own, _what did he show you?_

"N-nothing," she said quickly, but she could not look away from him as he advanced.

As she so often did, she found herself drifting towards a wall, like a mouse cornered by a cat, with no ability to outrun it. Alucard seemed to like this position, trapping her with his arms and towering over her, as though to flaunt his height and strength. The look in his eyes left her with no doubt; he was the master, and he was going to get the answer out of her at all costs. She vaguely wondered of he would beat her into submission.

She was certain that her face reflected her fear, for a grin slid onto her master's cold, dead lips, his fangs protruding and glinting menacingly.

_I'm hungry, _Alucard informed her, leaning his face down towards her neck.

"H-hungry, Master?" she repeated, flushing when she felt his icy breath on her skin.

_Yes, hungry, Seras._

"Um..." Seras bit her lip. "I suppose it's not really my place to refuse. In the end, it's your blood, isn't it?"

_True, _Alucard said; she could feel his smirk against her flesh, and it made her shiver. So what was he waiting for?

_It's almost no fun, _he decided, leaning back, _to take your memories so easily. Did you know, Seras, that to drink from another is to take their memories into your body? Between vampires, it can build strong bonds if it is a two way exchange. You realize how easily I could have forced you into being my bride._

"So why didn't you?" Seras asked softly.

_Because there is no sport in it, _he replied. _What is the fun in catching something if it never had a chance to flee? By raising the stakes, I've made it a fair match, and yet my patience has almost worn thin. Why do you resist me, Seras Victoria?_

"I..."

_Have you considered what it truly means to serve someone?_

"O-of course!" Seras insisted. "I will do anything for my master!"

_Even love me?_

"L-love...?" she repeated, eyes widening.

_Yes. What if your master has a need of your body?_

Seras trembled slightly beneath him. "Why would my master need the love of a fledgling?"

_There is one thing we have not tried to get Vlad's attention._

"You mean... sex."

_Precisely, _Alucard said, his voice low and husky.

"I-if you think it will work," she murmured, lowering her eyes. "This is the body my master gave to me after all."

_Yet you look reluctant, _he observed.

"It's irrelevant," she insisted. "Nothing more than residual human habits."

Seras almost gasped at her own words. _I shouldn't be the one saying that, _she realized. _That should be... my inner vampire, but... she's not speaking._

_You look puzzled, _Alucard murmured, tilting her face upward with one hand.

"There's no longer any distinction," she whispered. "No more voices in my head fighting for the possession of my body. Not since... I killed that vampire."

_Voices? _Alucard said, a brow raised.

"Between vampire and human," Seras said. She could feel tears gathering at the corners of her eyes. "For them to have subsided... that means I am what I wished not to become. I am a monster."

_A true monster does not regret being a monster, _he said stonily. _You are the same as the day I turned you. Still stubborn, and still pure._

"Pure!" she scoffed, bitter tears staining her cheeks. "How many murders have I committed? Have I not offered my body to you? In what way am I pure?"

_Do you know how a fledgling is freed? _Alucard asked.

Seras shook her head, sniffling softly.

_They must drink their master's blood, _he replied. _To most fledglings, this means they must murder their master._

Seras shifted away from him. "Murder..." she mumbled. "I don't think I could kill you, even if I wanted to."

Alucard's laughter echoed in her thoughts. _The thought has never occurred to you, even in the days that you hated me. You never tried to think of a way to end my life, even though I put Pip at your disposal, with his vast knowledge of techniques for destroying vampires._

"You _wanted_ me to kill you?" Seras asked in horror.

_As you stated, you could not kill me if you tried, _he informed her. _I wished only to test your loyalties._

Seras felt her fists clench by reflex. "And now?" she asked. "Do you doubt my loyalties?"

_In fact, yes, _he replied. _You are too much of an enigma. For a fledgling not to desire her master is too unheard of._

"I see," she whispered. She ducked out from beneath his arm and backed away, her eyes staring into his with betrayal.

With her claws she ripped open her shirt and discarded the tattered remains on the ground. She did the same with her pants and undergarments until she stood bare before him, shivering more from fear than from exposure.

"This is what you want," she said. "It's yours. After all, this body was your gift to me, so take it back. Take it back with the knowledge that it has long called out for you despite it's owner's protests."

As Alucard descended upon her, Seras let one last tear fall from her eye before she resigned herself to her master's wishes. Alucard's hands were cold against her naked skin, working up and down with centuries of skill and practice.

It had been true what she had said. Her body had longed for him from the beginning, no doubt because he was her master. She leaned into him, allowing herself to feel the sensations his attentions inspired in her, the unfamiliar heat and pleasure coursing through her body.

She waited patiently for the end of her virginity.

And yet just when she was sure it had come, Alucard kissed her softly, with tenderness she had never expected or known and told her quietly, _I will take your body only when _you _call out for me with every fiber of your being. I am a king of vampires, and I will not accept less than your heart before I agree to sleep with you._

He removed his cloak from his shoulders and wrapped it around her like a blanket. _Go put clothes on, _he added coldly. _You look like a whore._

As Alucard vanished from her sight, Seras collapsed to the ground with shock, hugging the cloak about her like she depended on it. She wanted to cry but could not. She wanted to hate him for rejecting her, but she could not do that either. All she could do was marvel at his words.

"You sounded like a whore, too."

"Vlad?" Seras gasped.

"Don't address me by name, girl," he snapped.

"I thought you were severing contact..."

"Well it's proved very difficult since everything that he thinks is now everything I think," Vlad replied. "But let us establish- I am not your friend, or your master, or your lover, or anything else that you may desire. I am merely here to put you in your place. Vampires do not fall in love with their fledglings. They use them and throw them away, just as Alucard has done for centuries. Look at that pig Aleera. Where is she now?"

Seras stared at the ground. "If he wants to kill me... that's fine. I have no real purpose living if I cannot serve him."

"Even still?" Vlad asked. "Even after he declared you a whore?"

"I am a whore," she said softly. "His whore. He can do with me as he likes."

"You've broken," Vlad realized. "You've given up."

Seras held the cloak a little tighter around her. "I haven't given up!" she insisted.

"You haven't tried to speak to me once."

"But you said..."

He cut her off. "Regardless of what I said, you abandoned hope in an instant. You are a disgrace as a fledgling."

"But I only wanted to serve him!" she cried out.

Silence met her words as they echoed emptily through the vast castle.

"I haven't given up!" she insisted again. Rising from the ground, she hurried down the steps towards the basement. Being a vampire gave her infinite knowledge of which ways to turn, like a human's hunches magnified. Before long, she recognized the hallway that contained her master's quarters. She walked right through the door before she even realized she had forgotten to open it.

Alucard did not look surprised to see her. He was sitting in his chair, grinning maliciously.

"I retract my offer!" Seras said fiercely. "You have been intentionally toying with my emotions and feelings, and I will not sleep with someone like that, even if he is my master!"

_Hadn't I rejected you already? _Alucard asked lazily.

"Yes, and now I am rejecting you. Just as you will not take me without my heart, I will not have you without yours."

_What an empty threat, _Alucard muttered. _You came in here for that?_

"No," she said, taking a deep breath and smiling politely. "I came in here to ask for directions to the library."

_You should consider getting dressed first,_ he said. _There are humans in this castle, in the library as well._

"It's irrelevant," she said. "Perhaps I'll even lure one of them in and get a snack."

_You will not use your body as a lure for human men,_ Alucard instructed coldly.

"But it's so effective," Seras said, frowning.

_You are mine. I will kill anyone who so much as looks at you._

"I am your servant," Seras snapped. "Nothing more unless you make me more. I will be your servant or your only bride, and nothing in between. Quite honestly, it doesn't make a difference to me."

Alucard vanished from his chair and suddenly reappeared in front of her, his face contorted with anger. _Watch your tongue, servant,_ he hissed, grabbing her by the forearm roughly.

Seras stared up at him with determination in her eyes. "Forgive me, my Master," she said smoothly, though her expression did not soften or yield.

_What is it you are seeking to gain? _he inquired, meeting her gaze with equal stubborness.

"Gain?" she repeated. "I am merely trying to free my master. What would I have to gain from that?"

_A granted wish of your choosing, _he replied.

_When the time comes, I will not need that, _she replied. _I will need only my master, whole and free._


	10. Love and Aggression

**Chapter Ten**

**Love and Aggression  
**

Seras stared triumphantly at her hand, as though she had never seen it before. She moved it forward once again and watched as it melded with the stone surface of the wall, passing through as though the wall was nothing but an illusion.

A slow smirked crept across her lips as she allowed her body to follow after her venturing fingertips, passing completely through into the next room (which, as it turned out, was an unoccupied bedchamber).

_Amazing what a little practice does, _she assured herself. She didn't know why she felt so obliged to further her abilities, but somewhere deep in her mind, a voice was telling her that this would be the only way to make her worthy of her master's affection- his _whole _affection. Vlad _and_ Alucard.

She had come to terms with it. The man her heart cried out for did not yet exist.

Sighing, Seras slid onto the empty bed and stared into the red velvet of the canopy. Somehow... she had thought coming to terms with her feelings would ease their presence, or at least lesson her confusion. Yet her heart ached more than it ever had, now with the weight of the task that lay before her. She knew that if she could not succeed, she could never give herself to Alucard.

And with every drop of blood she took into her body, her lust would swell. Perhaps this was because she knew Alucard would drink from her when she seemed well enough fed, and that alone was enough to drive her mad. Or perhaps it was because her fantasy's had taken on a different angle as of late, an angle involving her master and herself, and her sinking her fangs deep into his throat. Whenever she drank, she imagined it was his blood- it seemed that only his blood could truly satiate her.

_But if I drank... I would no longer be his fledgling, _she reminded herself sadly. _And if I cannot be that, then what am I?_

Her mind rang out with a very tempting, unlikely answer. _His queen._

Seras let her head fall into her hands, groaning with frustration. She felt like a lovestruck teenager- though, she mused to herself, most teenage girls did not imagine draining their boyfriend's blood. Every time she thought of him, carnage seemed to play some sort of role in her imagination. Admittedly, she had yet to see him on the battlefield, but she often dreamed about him killing his enemies and laughing as he bathed in their blood.

_God, I'm twisted, _she realized, smirking faintly. _Have I really sunk so low in such a short time?_

She knew the answer. It was the one that in the beginning she had feared- she had become a vampire, inside and out. There was no war in her thoughts, only her, perfectly at peace with herself, fantasizing about ripping out throats.

Yet her desire to spare the innocent had lingered, so she could only conclude that part of her personality as a human had carried over, despite her raging thirst. That only furthered her sense of inner peace. It was as though the two halves had met in the middle and melded, and not that one had swallowed the other.

With that thought in mind, she forced herself to rise from the bed, and then phase through the floor. It was a draining task, though she was certain that with practice, she could build endurance.

She decided to walk the rest of the way to the library, to conserve her energy as best as she could. The past few days had all been more or less the same: eat, work, read, sleep. In that order, without fail. Her comfort was that once she finished her research, a soft coffin was waiting for her to curl up in.

Her master had sent one of the castle servants into the village to have a new one made, despite that she had offered to sleep in one of the former bride's coffins. Alucard had only smirked and lit them all on fire, saying that there was a legend that if you burn a vampire's coffin, they will die.

Seras was not sure how true that was, despite having read about it in a few books. She had come to understand many things in her stay at the library. "Willing Blood" for instance was a rare occasion when a deflowered human offers his/her life to a vampire with full knowledge of what awaits them beyond the grave. Apparently it was a truly rare thing, but gave great power to the vampire, because they thus encased a free life within them.

Seras found Alucard's library to be fascinating. It was riddled with diaries of every kind of monster imaginable. There was an entire wing dedicated to "Vampire Hunters" and another to "Dhampir," or half-human, half-vampire creatures. Dhampir turned out to be a myth, as there had never been a documented case of a real one, but Seras found the extensiveness of the collection to suggest that Alucard had at one point or another fascinated himself with the thought of impregnating a human girl.

After centuries of life, it was not a surprise that he had done, seen and tried everything within his power. It only made her realize how much his inferior she actually was. No matter how hard she worked, power truly was only earned with time, and she would never catch up to him.

The thought was disheartening, but she managed to convince herself that she did not need to be his equal- only his servant. As long as she worked hard enough to stay by his side, she could remain content.

Alucard rarely bothered her when she was training or reading on her own. From time to time she thought she felt his presence enter the room, but when she turned, he was never there. She was working her way through the section on vampire hunter's since it was a vampire hunter who had placed the curse on her master.

From what she could gather, there were two primary clans: the Hellsing's and the Belmont's. The other names she found were sporadic. The Belmont's were supposedly extinct, but the Hellsing's still lived, in England no less. Alucard had been tracking them religiously, and held many modern documents that seemed to relate to them. Mysterious killing sprees that mysteriously solved themselves, and a picture of a woman with ice blue eyes at the crime scene saying "no questions."

Seras had no choice but to believe that this young Hellsing was in fact the descendent of the great Abraham Hellsing, the one that had caused her master's soul to split. Why else would Alucard have followed her so closely? Well, other than the fact that she was quite beautiful...

_No, no jealousy!_ Seras barked at herself.

_But you're rather charming when you're jealous, _Alucard's all-too-familiar voice crooned in her head.

Seras felt herself color, and not because he had called her charming. _It was nothing, Master, just a reflex._

_Why do you sound so apologetic? Didn't I just say I find it charming?_

Seras shut the file containing Integral Hellsing's picture and reshelved it. _You're hungry, aren't you? _She asked.

_Very perceptive, _he mused approvingly. _How can you tell?_

_You'd never call me "charming" otherwise, _she replied dimissively.

He chuckled as he materialized barely inches from her, entrapping her from behind and sniffing her neck eagerly. _Charming isn't the best word to describe the way you are now. You're more like a porcupine that can't decide if it should keep it's quills up or down._

_I'm a busy porcupine, so make it quick, please, _she said.

_Don't pretend you don't like it when I feed from you, _he said playfully, giving her throat a gentle nip.

Seras pointedly ignored the way any sort of physical attention from him stimulated her, though she was certain that he knew exactly how in control of her he really was.

She had made up her mind- she would not sleep with him until she had both halves of his heart, if ever such a time would come. She knew very well that even if she found a way to break her master's curse, he may no longer wish for her company. She truthfully did not know what would happen in the end. All she knew was that her sole purpose in this life was to serve him without fail, and she was determined to do so despite Alucard's skepticism and Vlad's objections. They were so... unbalanced without each other, and neither seemed truly able to comprehend this. They couldn't see themselves floundering simultaneously, because neither had an objective opinion about the situation.

Seras wondered what her master would be like when he had reunited with his old self. What name would he go by? Which personality quirks would be the most prominent? Would he be vague like Alucard, or straightforward like Vlad? Would he be gentle, or rough, passive or aggressive? Her imagination ran wild with the possibilities.

Of one thing she was certain though; he would be the perfect vampire.

_You're not paying attention, _Alucard muttered. He sounded annoyed.

Only then did Seras realize that he had been attempting to arouse her by messaging her hips and thighs as he kissed her throat.

She tried to hide her smile at the disappointment in his eyes. "Wouldn't it make it easier if you just bit me?" she suggested. "You know I'm not going to sleep with you, so what's the point in trying to excite me?"

_Perhaps I just find it entertaining, _he replied. _When you pay attention that is._

_I'm sorry, Master, but I'd rather not, _she informed him. _As attractive as a fledgling finds her master, she does have feelings of her own, you know._

_Stubborn, _he said, cold air flushing from his nostrils and colliding with her skin. _Very well, I'll take what I want and leave you to your pointless studies._

_They're not pointless, _Seras growled. _I may not be closer to figuring out how to break your curse, but I am growing as a draculina._

_The answer doesn't lie in books, _he said, and there was a faint note of sadness in his voice that alarmed her.

_Integral Hellsing, _Seras muttered thoughtfully. _Do you think that the heir of Hellsing could have the ability to release you?_

_No, _he said. _I am certain that she is no longer connected with what binds me. I am my own curse in this case._

_You're own...? _Seras began in confusion, then shook her head, realizing clarity and Alucard were two things that never went hand in hand. _Then why do you follow her so closely?_

_Jealous again? _He asked wickedly.

Seras huffed and glared up at him expectantly.

Alucard shrugged, grinning. _She's a fascinating creature, isn't she? Twenty two years old with a will of iron and a mind of death. She is the first Hellsing since Abraham to exhibit such daunting qualities. She carries the mark of a true hunter._

Seras did not like his tone of fascination and desire, as though he wished to meet such a woman in person.

_Master, I want to return to England, _she decided.

_No, _he said flatly.

_You're not even going to ask why? _

_The answer in no. England is Hellsing's territory, and I won't have you within a thousand miles of that place._

_But England is my home, _Seras protested.

_No, _Alucard said once again.

_But what if this woman can help us?_

_Why would she? She despises monsters._

_But she seems to be a logical woman..._

_Seras! _Alucard said, jerking her around and glaring deep into her eyes. _I. Said. No._

_Then what can I do, Master? _She asked desperately. _How can I serve you if you insist on treating me like a child?_

_You are a child! _He said icily. _Brittle and rash, easily driven into a corner. You do not have the experience for such negotiations._

_Master, you have to ask yourself what matters more, _Seras murmured. _Keeping me safe, or finally being free of a curse that has held you captive for centuries._

That seemed to catch his attention for a moment. He stared down at her, his eyes reflecting the internal conflict in his priorities. Then he said, _my answer is still no. Even if I let you go at great risk to yourself, nothing would come of it. You are too young._

"Since when do you have such little faith in me?" she demanded aloud. "Didn't you keep me alive for this purpose only?"

_I kept you because I wanted you. Didn't I doubt from the beginning that you would succeed? Didn't I agree to kill you if you ever did?_

"Yet you must have had... some hope," Seras whispered. "Because you changed the terms of the deal- that meant you had taken my request to die seriously."

_You are twisting things in your head, _he decided. _I assure you, I never even for an instant placed any amount of hope on you._

_You're lying, _she taunted. _And I'm not going to argue with you about it. Believe what you want and I'll believe what I want._

_You're a reckless fool, _he said with narrowed eyes.

Seras tilted her head to one side and swept her hair away from her neck. "Were you not here for something?" she asked.

Alucard's eyes flickered only briefly to the offered vein she had exposed for him. Then they were back on hers, smoldering as they often did, turning her knees to jelly. She swallowed.

"You're not hungry anymore, Master?" she asked carefully.

_Actually, I'm famished, _he said, a predatory grin on his face.

Seras abruptly found herself slammed into the bookshelf, causing folders and novels to shower around them, papers spinning through the air.

Seras stared at him in shock as he forced one of his legs upward between her thighs and pulled her body tight against his.

"M-master!" she protested, grabbing onto his shoulder to keep from falling. "What are you doing?"

_Devouring you, _he said, dark desire lacing with his words.

"This is unnecessary," Seras muttered as one of his hands slid up her legs.

_But you enjoy it, don't you, Police Girl?_

"P-police... Vlad!" she realized, squirming relentlessly.

Alucard's body began to laugh. "My you're slow."

"What are you doing?" she demanded. "Put me down."

"You haven't talked to me in a while," he said, leaning forward and resting his head in the crook of her neck. "I wanted to see what stupid scheme you had developed that was getting him so riled up."

"Well, now you've seen," Seras said uncomfortably. "You can let me go now."

"There's something else I've been dying to try," he replied, causing Seras to pale uneasily. His lips brushed against the flesh of her collarbone, lighting her insides on fire.

"Mast- um, Vlad," she stuttered. "D-Do you just want to drink?"

"Call me Master," he said into her ear. "After all, you're mine as well, aren't you?"

"Ah... that might get confusing," she mumbled. "Since you're mostly just rude to me, I don't really think of you as my master..."

"Yet it is me that makes you so powerful," he breathed, running a finger up her spine.

Seras drew in a deep, ragged breath. "Well, _Master, _I find you very confusing. What is it that you want?"

"Your blood of course," he said almost reverently. He inhaled slowly, taking in her scent and holding it for a long while.

"I won't stop you," Seras assured him. "After all, whoever possesses it, this is my master's body, and it is my duty to nourish it."

"So, you're inviting me? Even knowing what the feeding does to us both?"

"W-what do you mean?"

"We both know the feelings a feeding can stir," he said forebodingly. "Suppose we... got carried away."

"That won't happen," she said confidently. "It never happens with Master Alucard, and it won't happen with you."

"You forget that Alucard and I do not share the same ideals."

"I trust both my masters," Seras said with such finality that it actually seemed to startle Vlad for a brief moment. "Besides," she added, "as you so often remind me, a fledgling like myself is hardly worth the effort."

Vlad stared at her for a long moment. "You're right," he said at last.

"See?" she said weakly. "I listen sometimes."

"I meant you were right that I can't make up my mind about you," Vlad snapped. "Never have I so badly wanted to kill some one in my life."

"It would be your right," she said, stiffening.

"It would," he agreed. "Yet never have I so badly desired someone. Everything about you calls to me, no matter what I may be, body or no."

Seras blinked in surprise.

_He hates his love of you more than he hates you, _Alucard's words echoed in her head.

"You're not very good at confessions," she said uncomfortably, squirming in his grasp.

"You don't like my attention?" he demanded, rage flickering behind his irises.

"I don't like the feeling that you want to sleep with me, drink me to dust and then carry on as though I'd never walked into your life!"

A rare grin played at the corner of his lips. "You seem to have pinpointed my latest thought sequence," he mused. "Though who's to say I could or would act on any of those potent fantasies? And if I did, could you stop me? Would you stop me?"

Seras averted her eyes from his. "If it is my master's desire, then I will not object. But only if it is what both masters want. How can I betray one to serve another? You may wish only to use me once, but Master Alucard needs me to make him stronger until I can find a way to end this curse."

"So it all comes down to that," Vlad said solemnly. "Hellsing was brilliant when he split our personality, carefully designed to cut off communication between us always. He left for me jealousy, and skepticism, ill will and anger."

"I think you both got the anger thing," Seras muttered.

Vlad grabbed her chin rather painfully and jerked her face upwards to his. "Accepting what I am does not change my wish to remain as I am," Vlad said thoughtfully. "Yet I am thinking things I have not thought in two hundred centuries. I am hungry, very hungry, and I think only you could satiate me, since you are the stem of the hunger in the first place."

"When you say satiate..." Seras wondered uneasily.

"I want all of you," he informed her. "Your blood, your body... and then maybe your corpse."

Seras' gaze darkened. She didn't know exactly what came over her, or exactly how badly she must have wanted to die to do such a thing, but she drew her fist back and then plunged forward into what would end in the worst punishment in her life.

Her closed hand collided with her master's skull and he- not expecting the blow- flew backwards through three rows of book shelves, each with an equally deafening crack.

"You're like a child!" she barked. "Spoiled and selfish! Don't I get a say in my existence? You think I remain here as your play thing? I am your servant, and you will treat me as a servant should be treated- with gratitude and protection!"

"Who are you to lecture me?" he snarled, snapping his head forward and wiping a trickle of blood off his cheek.

"I am the child of the true Dracula!" she said, her eyes burning. "And the way you are now, selfish and narrow-minded, I will quickly surpass you! You have no pride in that you were once the No-Life King! You harbor yourself in walls of corruption and then seek to destroy those who would undo them."

Before she could think, she was running for her life, streaking through wall after wall, her instinct for survival humming.

_Seras!_ Alucard's voice yelled in her ears. _Seras, come back!_

_You can no longer protect me, Master, _she said. _I'm tired of being threatened and overpowered. I'll figure this out elsewhere!_

_You have no where to go! _he yelled, his voice taught with fury. _You will stay where you are!_

_No, Master!_

Seras yelped as something seized her from behind and brought her struggling and kicking to the ground.

"No!" she screamed, lashing out with fangs and claws elongated. She felt cornered, and afraid for her life.

"Hold still!" Vlad growled.

_Seras, stop struggling! _Alucard insisted.

"Get away from me!" she belowed. Two hands enclosed on her wrists and slammed them into the floor, a heavy weight settling across her legs to prevent their kicking.

Her wild eyes settled on his, and fear as she had never known settled into every fiber of her soul.


	11. Design Perfection

**Chapter Eleven**

**Design Perfection**

"Your punishment awaits," Vlad hissed, his icy breath spreading across her face as he leaned over her, her body still pinned beneath his.

_Master Alucard, please don't let him hurt me! _Seras begged.

_You deserve to be punished, _Alucard replied stonily. _You have acted out of line._

"I see," Seras murmured, her fingers curling into fists. "So in the end... I'm nothing to any part of you, is that right, my master? In the end... I'm not even a servant in your eyes."

"What nonsense are you spewing?" Vlad demanded.

"At last my master's agree on something," she whispered coldly. "Fine. Rape me. Drain me. Kill me. Like I said you could if both of you wished such a future on me. You win. Both of you. I give up. I don't care anymore."

"So troublesome," Vlad sighed. "Why must you be dramatic over everything?"

"Why must you make light of everything that matters?" Seras countered.

_Seras, calm down, _Alucard breathed. He sounded tired. _No one is going to hurt you._

Seras wriggled beneath him. "Then let me go!" she demanded.

_We won't risk you trying to escape, _Alucard replied.

"Just sit still," Vlad growled. "You're overreacting."

"Overreacting?" Seras repeated. "After what you just threatened to do to me?"

_Seras, have I not treated you like a princess? _Alucard asked of her. _Have I ever harmed or let harm come to you?_

"You're the one that killed me!" she exclaimed in exasperation.

_Yes, and wasn't it beneficial?_

"Beneficial?!" she seethed.

_You still know very little..._

"...of what it is to be a vampire," Vlad finished his eyes glowing.

_Yes, _Alucard agreed. _Did you know that potential draculinas give of a thick scent to draw a vampire in, almost like a mating ritual?_

"So you're trying to tell me that you forced me into this life because I smelled good?" she demanded.

_It's a rather rare occurrence, actually, to find a virgin woman with the natural gifts to thrive as a nosferatu. In fact, for me, you would be the first. Of course, that is because not every fledgling will be compatible with every master. Certain candidates smell better to certain vampires._

"And you, Police Girl, always smell criminal," Vlad put in with an alarming depth of hunger in his eyes.

_You were designed for us, _Alucard finished, his voice dripping with desire.

"Yes, as young and pathetic as you are, you are perfect," Vlad said, teeth flashing. "We've both known from the beginning- the scent does not stop at physical boundaries, but penetrates right to your soul."

_The ultimate servant, _Alucard mused.

"Yet why does it have to be you?" Vlad asked curiously. "Why is such a worthless creature so perfect for us? Is it the self-righteousness?"

_A counterbalance, _Alucard decided. _Our polar opposite._

"Perhaps... imagine if we were with someone like us."

Alucard's dark laugh filled Seras' mind. _Is it possible that the great creator sought to torture us even in this?_

"Not possible, but probable," Vlad replied. "What a perfect tease he is- happiness in death, but only with someone you hate."

Seras listened to the conversation unfolding between them, her mind struggling to understand what they meant by everything. The talk of scents and designs was well beyond her scope, but one thing she comprehended without a doubt- her master cared for her against his will. The realization of this equated to the pain of being stabbed by a thousand needles.

Seras started to extract herself from beneath her master when his grip on her tightened.

"I won't run," she said softly.

"We don't quite trust you," Vlad replied.

Seras sighed and went completely limp beneath him. "We can't sit like this forever."

"What's the hurry?" Vlad retorted, eyes gleaming.

"Master, what was the deal we had?" she said quietly, her gaze traveling away from his. "I suppose being a vampire gives me a better memory, because even now I can quote you perfectly. You said 'If you create an open stream of communication with my other half, one that does not depend on your existence, I'll kill you. However, if you fail, you have to live in this castle for as long as I want you to, as my bride.'

"Of course," she added, "you changed the deal later: 'instead of death being the reward... why don't I say you can have whatever you want, no matter what it may be?' But regardless of the reward, I believe I have more than fulfilled my end of the bargain."

_You have a point, _Alucard agreed.

"You're going to do as she says?" Vlad demanded of his other self.

_A deal is a deal, _Alucard said with a shrug. _Though I thought you had forsaken your one wish._

"I guess... that was before I fully understood the situation," she murmured.

_And you believe you understand it now? _Alucard inquired.

"Yes," she replied.

_You forget I can read your thoughts, _Alucard countered. _You still understand nothing._

"A deal is still a deal," Seras replied.

"Fine, what do you want?" Vlad asked impatiently.

"I want to return to England."

Her master's eyes narrowed.

_No._

"No," they said in unison.

"You said anything I want!" Seras argued.

_Anything that doesn't involve death, _Alucard corrected fiercely.

"Oh, what do you care anyway!" she snapped, fresh tears seeping down her cheeks. "Even if I die, you'll forget me over time, and now that I'm not your translator, you'll find a way to break your curse without my help. I want to go home one last time. That's my only wish."

_And what is there for you there? Your parents graves?_

She smiled slightly. "Yes, I would like to visit their graves. And Sean's as well. Surprising... I thought the longer I was a vampire, the less I would care. But it seems to be the opposite. Now that I'm used to this body and the raging blood lust has subsided, I can feel my heart again. And I want to go back to England."

Vlad (Alucard?) stared at her with wide eyes, as though he had never seen anything quite like her before.

_Very well, _Alucard agreed after a long pause. _But you will take certain precautions, and you will train with me for another two weeks before I allow you to go. You must not feast while you are overseas, because if Hellsing catches your trail, it will mean your death. Not under any circumstances are you to try to confront Integral Hellsing, for whatever reason. She will kill you on sight._

Seras could hardly believe he had given in so easily. Vlad seemed right there with her. He was wearing a very sour expression as he sat up and allowed Seras to extract herself from beneath him.

"T-thank you, Master," Seras managed to say. She suddenly found herself backed against a wall with arms to either side of her head.

_You must be brief, _Alucard told her, and she could only assume he had retaken control of the body.

"I understand," she assured him. "I'll be good, I promise." A cheeky smile seemed to soften him slightly.

_Then we don't have a minute to waste, _he said eagerly, a flicker of a grin passing across his lips. _I hope you were not expecting much sleep for the next two weeks. Your training starts now._

Alucard had not been kidding about the lack of sleep. Seras barely had time to eat, let alone rest. Alucard worked her to the point of exhaustion every night, and often well into the morning.

He left her no time to read in the library, or even to talk to Vlad, who found the situation both amusing and annoying. She occasionally caught Vlad throwing snide comments at his other half, and Alucard gritting his teeth and pretending he was deaf as well as mute.

Alucard, Seras quickly learned, was a rather bad teacher. He was impatient with her somewhat slow progress. Vlad kept making comments about how disappointing it was that the most powerful fledgling in the world could barely walk through a wall.

Seras was certain she had been improving more without the help of either.

Nonetheless, there were things that Alucard could teach her that she would not even have believed herself capable of. The most important thing was the gun training.

Seras was surprised that with all the abilities a vampire could possess that Alucard felt a gun would be her most valuable weapon. Nonetheless, she found that she could do and see things that she had never dreamt possible, hitting marks thousands of feet away.

It was harder for her because she had to forget how to aim as a human would. Alucard taught her to rely on what he called her "third eye". It was more of an internal sense with which she examined her environment than an eye, but she found it to be alarmingly useful. Before long she could shoot targets over her shoulder.

The two weeks sped by in a strange blur.

Quite abruptly, it was the final evening before her departure, and Seras woke at the crack of dusk, stretching and grumbling as prepared for her final night of training.

"Master," she called as she entered his chambers, looking left and right.

The room appeared empty, though she was certain she could feel his presence lurking nearby. Frowning, she stepped in and closed the door, senses pricked.

Something grabbed her from behind and pulled her hard against a muscled chest, causing her to let out a surprised gasp. She did not doubt whose arms encircled her.

"You're senses are still weak, Police Girl," Vlad said into her ear.

"You're in Master's body?" Seras asked, an eyebrow raised. "You haven't done that in a while..."

_Tonight, Seras, it is important that we are one, for your sake, _Alucard informed her.

Seras donned a puzzled expression. "Why's that, Master?"

_Tonight... you will be given your freedom._

Seras felt her eyes widen. "My..." she whispered, almost too stunned to speak. "B-but why?" She was not entirely certain where they came from, but hot, crimson tears began to leak from her eyes, washing down her neck and shoulders until her upper body was stained with blood. "Have I done something wrong?"

Vlad made an impatient noise as Alucard explained, _this is the best protection I can offer you. You should be grateful. This is not a gift I hand out lightly._

"But it means... you won't be my master anymore," she murmured, pushing a hand across her eyes to stem the flow of blood.

_You will always be mine, _Alucard replied. _I created you._

"I... I don't know," she said uneasily, brushing away the last of the tears. "W-what if I run away? What if my loyalties are only because of our connection?"

"Then who wants them?" Vlad pointed out. "What good are 'loyalties' that only exist conditionally?"

_He's right, Seras, _Alucard agreed. _But that is not what matters. What matters is that you live._

"But up until now... my purpose has been to live to serve my master. If I don't have a master, then what am I living for?"

_For yourself, _Alucard replied. _For what you want. And if we are correct..._

"...and we probably are..." Vlad added.

_...you want us. You want us to be free and whole._

Seras turned a pale shade of pink, pinpointing exactly how long it had been since her last feeding. "Th-that's not-!"

"You're going to deny it?" Vlad laughed incredulously.

_Furthermore, why do you _wish _to deny it? _Alucard inquired.

Seras suddenly found herself propped against the door, her master staring down at her more intensely than he ever had. It was a look of desire, and longing, and beneath that, something unfamiliar, something that caused her insides to disintegrate into clouds of butterflies.

Alucard suddenly leaned forward and allowed his lips to brush against her temple so gently it alarmed her. _You are precious, Seras Victoria, _he whispered to her.

Seras could not move as his fingers ghosted up her sides, over her forearms and shoulders until they reached the base of her throat where the lingered, holding her steady.

"You were designed for us," Vlad muttered. "The thought of existing without you... is painful." He looked like admitting it was painful, too. "It probably would have been better if you had never come to this country."

Seras was trying to decide if that was an insult or a confession, but Alucard replied first, _but now that you _have _entered our world, we do not wish to lose you to anything, including ourselves._

"Master..." she murmured wondrously, staring up at him with wide eyes.

"Drink, Police Girl," Vlad said, cupping a hand behind her head and pulling it closer to his neck. Her nostrils tingled at the scent of his blood, and a whole rush of dreams surfaced in her mind as she imagined drinking of him at last. Her body craved it intensely.

Her master's other hand wrapped around her waist and held her tight against him as she slowly extended her toungue and brushed it lightly against the ice white skin.

Vlad growled low in his throat, but it was not a threatening noise, more like a purr, as though he too had been fantasizing about this moment.

Carefully, her hands pressed against his chest, she opened her jaws wide and poised her fangs just above the veins, their sharp tips barely touching the delicate skin of his neck. She could feel his pulse racing, even faster than it usually was. Excitement exuded from his aura.

Realizing that he truly wanted this, she could not hold back any longer, her own body sighing with pleasure as her teeth ripped cleanly into his skin and a trail of cold blood burst into her mouth. She drank greedily, her fingers knotting in his shirt to pull him closer, her eyes shut tight as pleasure filled her, and with it came something deep and sinister, the essence of Alucard's power. Her body felt like it was overflowing with fire.

She could feel her master's grip tightening on her with each passing second. His claws ripped through the back of her shirt and lightly cut across the tender skin beneath it. He hissed in want as the smell of her blood entered the air.

Seras suddenly found herself dislodged from her master's neck and on the ground, her master straddling her as his lips pressed to her own throat hungrily. Seras realized she was about to return the favor only seconds before he bit into her and began to suck eagerly.

His hands roamed tortuously up and down her form, adding to the sensations she was already feeling. Seras gasped for air, her hands burried deep in his silky tresses, her head thrown back as soft moans escaped her.

She had never felt anything like the passion that consumed her at this moment, and she was certain that no matter she had decided about sleeping with her master before the curse was broken, it was overruled in this instant.

The way his body sculpted to hers, the feel of his fangs deep inside her, his hands roving sensuously across her body... it was overwhelming. Her legs wrapped tightly around his waist and her arms around his shoulders as he released her from his bite and found her mouth with his.

The two tumbled downward in a flurry of teasing hands and cold shadows, and the night was spent divulging in the greatest pleasure either had ever known.


	12. The Cost of Living

Chapter Twelve

The Cost of Living

Seras lingered in the frame of the castle doors, watching as men loaded her coffin into the back of a truck. They left the lid open, since she would be riding safely inside, to escape the effects of crossing the ocean.

Taking a deep breath, Seras resigned herself to hours of claustrophobia and decompressed cargo holds and started down the steps.

No sooner had she left the interior than something dark and cold wrapped around her, dragging her back into the shadows.

_Leaving without saying goodbye?_

"Mast-!" she began eagerly, but something in her brain stopped her. This was no longer her master. "Alucard," she corrected with a more stable tone, watching as the shadowy tendrils receded from her body and strong arms replaced them.

She rotated in his grasp and stared up at him intently. "I thought we already said our goodbyes," she murmured. "You seem a little reluctant to let me leave."

_I believe that goes without saying, _he replied. _I do not like risking what is mine unnecessarily._

"I'll be fine," she insisted. "It's only a week. What can go wrong?"

His eyes darkened. _I cannot protect you, _he said. _If something happens, I cannot even bring you home._

"I'll bring myself home," Seras replied. "As planned." She stood on tiptoe, one arm wrapped around his neck, and pressed her lips softly to his. "I promise," she added.

She started to pull away, but Alucard pulled her back and kissed her with all the passion of a man in love. He finally said, _Do not confront Integral Hellsing under any circumstances._

"Yes, sir," she agreed.

He finally loosened his hold on her enough to let her extract herself from his grasp and hurry out to the truck. A men held out a hand to her into the back, but Seras ignored it and nimbly leapt upward with ease. She laid herself down in her coffin and folded her fingers across her stomach.

Alucard's face, still standing in the doorway as the lid slowly slid shut was the last thing she could remember, but it was something she would never forget; perhaps it had been a trick of the light, but she could have sworn she saw a faint trail of blood on his left cheek, leading from the corner of his eye to his chin.

Seras slowly opened her eyes and found herself staring into the dark underside of her coffin lid. The world around her was completely still, no voices, no rushing air. Her senses told her that she was very alone.

Deciding it was safe, Seras pressed upward and removed the lid, sitting up and admiring her surroundings. She was in a dim hotel suite, and quite a lavish one at that.

The room she was in was equipped with cushy couches and mahogany tables, with marble flooring that led away into the vast adjoining bedroom.

Rising, she stretched her muscles and looked around eagerly, quickly deciding that she had never stayed in such an expensive room before.

She made a fast dash to the window, and pulled back the curtains, but quickly shut them with a hiss as sunlight poured into the room.

_I suppose I'll have to wait until night to figure out where I am, _she decided as she walked into the bedroom.

Flopping down on the mattress, she took hold of the in-room movie list and smiled to herself, thinking she could pass the time quite easily.

It was wonderfully fun to feel so human again, to watch movies, and swim in the hotel pool. Alucard had taught her a trick for changing her eye color that made her look no different than any other girl, besides being pale and startlingly attractive.

She spent some time in the hotel bar making eyes at various young men, in case she needed a snack for later.

Admittedly, she had lied to Alucard to get here. She had convinced him that she would not go near Integral when that had always been her intention. Integral was the last of the Hellsing's, and her last hope for freeing her master.

Of course, she _did_ actually want to visit her parent's graves, so as soon as the sun began to seep below the horizon, she emerged onto the streets of London and found a flower shop and purchased three roses.

She took a taxi into the countryside to the tiny church she had attended with her parents when she was younger. She found her parents graves, beside her grandparents, and her great parents. The Victoria's had lived in this area for years, and attended that particular church.

She laid roses on each of them and (despite being a vampire) said a prayer for their peaceful rest in heaven. Then she returned to the taxi and asked it to take her to a village called Cheddar, the place where Sean had died. She did not know where he was actually buried, since she had fled the country right after the incident.

When the cab driver dropped her off, she payed him and told him someone else was giving her a ride back into town. He sped off, leaving her alone in the somewhat quiet village. The shooting had taken place in a pub down the street, but that was not exactly an atmosphere to say her farewells, so she headed to the church.

"Can I help you, my child?" and elderly priest asked when she entered.

"I'm sorry to intrude," she murmured, "but I have lost someone dear to me and wished to pay my respects here, if that's alright."

The priest regarded her with some distrust for a moment, but then softened at the pleading look in her eyes. "Of course, take as long as you need," he agreed, beckoning her forward into the shadowed depths of the empty church.

Seras felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up as she followed him into the holy place. _Probably the effects of being in a church, _she decided, hugging herself defensively. Her fingers clutched at the rose to the point where it's thorns pierced her soft flesh, trailing blood down the dusty green stem.

"You seem nervous, Child," the priest observed. "Is this your first time in a church?"

"No, not at all, Father," she said quickly. "I'm just not from around here."

"Is that so?" he murmured, more to himself than to her. "And . . . do you have friends waiting for you back in the village?"

"No," she replied without thinking. "I came here alone."

"Then . . . no one will ever notice if you disappear."

"W-what?" she said, startled by the sudden words. But before she could even fully process their meaning, the priest had whipped around in a whirlwind, snatching her by the throat. "I'll be gentle, I promise," he snarled, his face contorted with hunger, his eyes glowing an unmistakable red.

"Vampire," she breathed, and then she began to laugh.

"You find your situation funny?!" he snapped.

"I find it funny that a vampire would disguise himself as a priest and then attempt to attack another vampire in his stupidity. So it was you I was sensing, and not the church after all."

"What?" he hissed.

"Don't you know the scent of your kin?" she asked innocently.

His eyes grow wide with shock. Seras seized on his hesitation and slammed her fist deep into his gut, ripping right through the flesh. Blood spurted around them like a shower. Seras wrenched her fist upward and seized hold of his heart, before giving him a forceful kick and sending his empty body crashing to the floor. The heart disintegrated and spilled like sand between her blood soaked fingers.

Curiously, she licked the blood from them. "You taste awful," she said to the pile of ash. "But waste not want not I suppose."

She proceeded to lap the blood from her hands, but just as she had switched to the other, the doors burst open, and the room flooded with soldiers.

Seras' eyes widened in shock as the men filled the room. At their head was a beautiful, sleek youth, with silver like hair that cascaded around his shoulders like a veil. His eyes found hers instantly, and she knew it was all over. This man wasn't human. And he wasn't on her side either.

"Hullo, pretty," he said, halting the progress of his men with a finger. His fanged grin crept across his face frighteningly, like a wolf that had cornered a rabbit. "We were told we were looking for a priest. We didn't expect to find you."

"The priest is dead," she replied, and to serve as a warning to the humans, she took another lick of the blood that stained her hands.

The strange vampire grinned like he had just won the lottery. "And what business did you have with him in the first place?"

Seras bent forward and scooped up her fallen rose. "Him? He was just in the way. I came here to pay my respects to someone I've lost. It seems I was in the wrong place at the wrong time, but who expects to find a vampire hiding in a church?"

"The wrong place at the wrong time?" the vampire repeated, laughing softly. "That's quite the understatement. It's been so long since I've seen a specimen like you, and here I'll have to kill you."

"You hunt your own kind?" she inquired curiously.

"It's nothing personal, love, but I have no choice."

Seras's eyes flashed to the soldiers. They all bore patched with large red 'H's on their sleeves.

"Hellsing," she said quickly. "You're with Hellsing."

"You've heard of us?" he said, his eyes dancing with interest.

"I came to England to find you," she replied. "And not with ill-intent. I wish to speak with Integral."

He burst out laughing. "That's quite a steep demand, but I cannot let filth like you within a thousand feet of my master."

"Filth?" Seras hissed angrily. "Aren't we the same?"

"You, an artificial vampire? And me?"

"Your senses are dulled," she growled. "You've spent too long curled on the lap of human that you can't even recognize a true monster."

He actually seemed taken aback. "You're natural born?" he inquired.

"What other kind of born is there?" she demanded.

He faltered, sensing that he had told her too much. Seras blinked. It was strange, but he seemed to become less threatening. Rubbing his temples, he said, "Move and I'll kill you. Everyone else, out."

"But sir-" a few of the soldiers protested, but his eyes turned so fierce that they dared not argue further.

The church emptied of soldiers until only she and the other vampire remained. He stood in the open doorway, the moonlight on his back, watching her closely.

Seras did not move, only stared intently back at him. Her eyes then trained on the open door behind him, where two figures had appeared, one of which she recognized instantly.

"Farran, why did you feel the need to call me here?" Integral demanded icily of her vampire. "Just kill the bloody thing."

"It's murder," he shrugged. "She's natural, and she hasn't fed on English soil. I won't kill her."

"I gave you an order," Integral snapped.

"Wait," Seras said swiftly. "My reason for coming to England was to speak to you."

"I don't talk to filth," Integral snapped.

"Then just listen," Seras replied. "My name is Seras Victoria, and I am the child of a vampire called Alucard."

Integral's eyes widened for half a moment. "Kill her now, Farran."

"Master-" Farran protested.

"Now!" Integral barked. "She is a child of Hell itself."

"I want to trade!" Seras yelled. "I am here to free my master from the curse your ancestors placed upon him, and I will offer myself as service for this. Bind me to your blood as you bound him."

Integral paused. "You are a loyal fledgling."

"I am not a fledgling," Seras whispered. "I am only in love."

"I am sorry, but a vampire like that must never be free," Integral replied coldly. "And young though you obviously are, I cannot risk that you will become like him. Farren?"

The other vampire did not protest this time. "It'll be better if you don't struggle," he said to Seras, and he seemed truly regretful to have to kill her. His advance was slow and careful, as though he was trying not to frighten her.

"I won't roll over," Seras growled. "Come at me with all you have!"

But even as she launched herself forward, something captured her wrists and ankles and held her still.

"It will really be better if you don't struggle," a new, silky voice put in. An elderly man was advancing towards her, winding what looked like thin strings around his fingers. Seras felt the other ends digging into her flesh, dousing the floor with blood.

"A human?" she laughed, glaring at him.

"Underestimate me if you will, but it won't save you," he replied calmly.

With an angry hiss, Seras spun, snapping the wires. Farren, at that moment, sprang as well, tackling her from behind and sinking his teeth deep into the flesh of her shoulder. "Delicious," he murmured, before punching her hard in the ribcage. Seras felt blood spurt from between her lips, but still managed to flip herself and lash at him with her claws. However, thin wires caught just above her elbow, and this time they did not hesitate.

Seras screamed as her arm was cut from her body. She collapsed to the ground clutching her stump of an arm, crimson tears streaming from her face. In her heart she knew it was over. She had no hope against opponents such as these.

"Forgive me, my master," she sobbed.

Something seized her by the hair and dragged her off the ground. "It's no use to cry for him," Farren growled. "Death finds us all."

"But surely only when we no longer wish to die," she said with a bitter laugh.

"I'll make this swift," he said softly.

Seras closed her eyes, awaiting his killing blow. In her mind, she could imagine that the hands in hair were Alucard's, tenderly stroking her like one would a cat, letting her know that he was pleased and proud of her.

He would never forgive her for betraying him, so perhaps it was better to die anyway. But some small part of her longed to survive through this, and to return to his embrace once more.

Yet she knew it was too late. She was useless in the hands of a strange creature, awaiting the hand of death.

Waiting, and waiting, and . . . why wasn't it coming?

Slowly, she opened one of her eyes. Farren was staring at her with wide eyes, his nails just inches from her chest, pushing forward with all his strength, though somehow, he could not pierce her.

Seras looked right back at him with shock.

"That's enough playing," a familiar, frightening voice called. Seras felt pleasure ripple through her at the sound of it. Already she could sense his aura, though something was drastically different. It was amplified to an alarming level, causing her to shiver where she stood.

"Master?" Seras whispered.

"I thought you were past the formalities, Seras."

"V-Vlad," she choked out.

"So close, and yet no."

Seras didn't dare to believe it. "Alucard . . ." she murmured. "How is that possible?"

"We'll talk later," he said dismissively. "For now there is the issue of that scum touching you."

Seras watched in horror as the most frightening thing she had ever seen in her life burst through the floor, it's jaws open wide as it engulfed Farran in a swift motion and bit down, devouring all but the arm that clutch Seras. Seras gasped as the bloody limb fell to the ground in front of her, scrambling away.

The creature spun round and siezed the remaining flesh in it's sharp teeth, it's many red eyes glinting hungrily as it downed the left overs.

Seras was too petrified to move, at least until she saw the glint of silver in the air, and the subtle hand flick of the elderly gentleman.

"Alucard!" she shrieked.

The great creature began to laugh hysterically as it disappeared into a cloud of shadow that spread across the room, blocking out even the light of the moon. The silver wires fell useless on the stone, before retracting to the hands of their owner, who had leaped backwards to the side of his master.

Seras suddenly felt a hand on her shoulder as the tall, intimidating form of Alucard materialized beside her, his clothes and hair still fanning in some unnatural, nonexistent breeze.

"So you see," he said in a voice like velvet, "the curse has begun to die. What will you do, Hellsing's heir?"

"You're dying," she replied coldly. "The curse was never meant to be broken. Surely you can sense this. It's only a matter of hours . . ."

"But think how much destruction I could wreak in London with so much time on my hands," he said maniacally. "And then my revenge would be complete."

"Wait, vampire!" Integral said, and she truly seemed nervous. "I can save you."

"Oh?" he said, feigning interest. "That's sounds awfully generous, Christian."

"It would be at a price, of course," she said coldly.

"I see," he said.

"I am now without a vampire, yet the freaks are still rampant in this country, and I dislike wasting men."

"So one curse for another?" he laughed.

"You won't die this way," Integral replied. "And the girl will be able to stay with you."

"A-Alucard...?" Seras whispered. "I don't understand."

"A new dawn," he replied. "A new challenge for us. Come, Seras, greet your new master."

"You are my only master," she growled.

He chuckled, curling an arm around her body and pressing her to him. "And will you do what ever I say?"

"Yes," she said without hesitation.

"Then I am commanding you to obey the Hellsing heir."

"She must be bound as well," Integral said, but Alucard bared his fangs possessively.

"As long as I live and serve you, she will not falter," he replied. "But you will not lay a finger on her or I will drink in the blood of London in an hour."

Integral gritted her teeth angrily. "So those are our terms."

"Yes," he grinned, his hair falling across his eyes and leaving only his white fangs glittering in the dark.

"Very well," she said, sighing. "Kneel, and prepare yourself for something excrutiating."

Alucard looked down at Seras intently and released her, before crossing the church and kneeling at the beautiful woman's feet, his head bowed, his lips still upturned in a permanent smirk.

Seras stiffled the growl that wished to emerge from her throat. It felt so very wrong to see her master bow to anyone.

"Fledgling, stay clear," Integral instructed.

"Y-yes, ma'am," Seras forced out, lowering her head submissively and reluctantly backing away.

"Walter," Integral called, holding out her hand.

The elderly gentleman placed in her hand a small black bible.

Integral crossed herself. "In the name of Jesus Christ, you are forever bound to my bloodline, as long as it exists." She bit down on her thumb and stooped, drawing a circle with the blood on the ground, and then within it a star.

"Cut yourself," she ordered.

Alucard obeyed, slitting his wrist with a fang and holding it above the circle. His dark blood dripped down and onto the earth, mingling with the blood of the human. Instantly, red light burst forth in the shape of blood she had drawn, and the circle expanded until it engulfed them both and Seras could no longer see at all.

She hid her face in her arm to block out the blinding light. There was a yell of pain from Integral, and a rawr of agony from Alucard, and then the light began to fade.

Walter rushed forward to catch his mistress even as she began to collapse to the floor.

"Alucard!" Seras gasped, darting forward to the fallen body of her master. Smoke rose from his clothes, his hair scattered across his face.

She pulled the limp form to her with her remaining arm, resting the head in her lap and pushing back the long black tresses so that she could see him better.

"Alucard," she whispered. He did not respond. "What have you done to him?!" she barked, but the Hellsing heir was unconscious as well. "Alucard," she called again. "Alucard!"

And suddenly he began to move. "Why so loud, Police Girl?"

"Alucard!" she said again with relief, stooping so that her forehead pressed against his.

"Your voice sounds fine all the same," he murmured. "Like fragments of a shattered memory."

Seras pulled back slightly so that their eyes locked. "This is all my fault," she whispered. "I disobeyed you."

"You saved me," he replied. "Only you could so bewitch every part of me that I would do anything to keep you alive, even set aside all pride and unite with myself."

"But Alucard, I don't understand," she said. "If the curse was broken, then why were you dying?"

"It was a curse unlike any other. Hellsing designed it to torture me for eternity, giving me even less of an unlife than I already had. And, if by chance I should ever manage to break this and become one again, the curse would kill me."

"Is it alright to call you Alucard?" she checked.

He chuckled, pushing himself upward off the ground and leaving her at his feet. "Vlad Draculae is a name that died years ago."

"I see," she murmured, breathing out. Her body suddenly felt very weak, having lost most of it's blood.

"Seras," he said fondly, scooping her into his arms and holding her too him. "Drink, and regenerate."

Seras placed her remaining arm around him and pulled herself closer to his throat, biting into the cold flesh. She drank hungrily, until he pushed her away, saying, "You're overestimating my self control."

Seras smiled, licking her lips sleepily.

Alucard laughed, pressing his cold lips to the top of her head. "My beautiful little draculina," he said affectionately.

Seras curled into his arms, never feeling more safe or happy than she did just then.

* * *

Sincerest apologies for the delay in getting this final installment to you all. What with school and all, I found my free time cut into drastically. However, it's summer now, and in addition to an epilogue to this story, I will be resuming my writing at a more regular pace, and hopefully will be able to offer you many more AxS stories, potentially even a sequal to this.


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